


Outsiders

by xTRESTWHOx, Yuri_Vamp



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, ゼロの使い魔 | Zero no Tsukaima | The Familiar of Zero
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 135,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18795565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTRESTWHOx/pseuds/xTRESTWHOx, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuri_Vamp/pseuds/Yuri_Vamp
Summary: When Louise attempted her summoning, the last thing she expected was being brought face to face with an angry God. Now forced into an unknown world vastly different than her own, she must prove herself to be the very best, like no one ever was.





	1. Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arceus interviews an interloper, one Louise de La Valliere, who accidentally attempted to summon a creature from his world into hers.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 1**

* * *

 

Being a god, Arceus mused, was not as easy as people think. Godhood was a massive responsibility. Between temporal anomalies, extra-dimensional threats, Ultra Beasts, and preventing his creations from destroying each other... et cetera, et cetera. Not that Arceus would bemoan His role in existence (He was quite happy with the task fate had appointed Him) but in the end, He would not wish it on anyone. Those thoughts, and more like them, surfaced irregularly as Arceus went about His duties as the creator-god of His iteration of Earth.

Quieting His thoughts, Arceus cast His senses out, immediately aligning on Keldeo, the youngest of the Swords of Justice. He smiled, feeling proud of the young colt's achievement, having finally been accepted as the full-fledged fourth member of the trio, then briefly passed over a man with messy, mint-colored hair. This man, the chosen of Reshiram, was working to bring Humans and Pokémon closer together, beyond the traditional Trainer-Battler relationship that defined so many. Indeed, there were few that held the conviction that this man had, such as a raven-haired boy who had touched so many.

Moving on, Arceus rested His gaze on Shamouti Island to check on the Lugia living there and his flock. The last time the three-winged mirages got riled up, it took Arceus days to clean up their mess and ensure that there wouldn’t be any lasting damage. No one wanted a repeat of that... incident. To His relief, it appeared that there weren’t any problems on or near the island, for the moment at least.

Arceus returned to observing the world, taking note of events as they transpired: big or small, good or ill. A couple holding hands, an egg appearing at a day care, criminals preparing a heist, an old Pokémon breathing its last. Arceus could gaze upon all His children, no matter who or where they are, and His gaze fell next on a particular young boy currently in Alola.

“Humph, they were bound to win at some point,” Arceus chuckled to Himself, noting how a familiar trio of criminals finally managed to beat the boy they had been hounding after so many years. His amusement turned into curiosity as a Bewear arrived to take them away. "Strange, I wonder how-"

Then Arceus felt it, a disturbance reaching out across His world towards a specific target. He had plenty of experience dealing with anomalies like this and immediately set about canceling and locating the source.

“Where are you?” Arceus questioned as He began to narrow down His search. Much to His annoyance, the anomaly repeated itself. That was odd. Usually, it only happened once before the source gave up. Having it happen twice in a row was a rare occurrence.

Soon after, Arceus located the source: a world that was both separate yet connected to His, one He had been dealing with for the past six millennia. He should have figured, but there'd been a few false leads over the centuries and He wanted to be sure. Arceus normally couldn't gaze upon worlds beyond His own. He could gaze upon all His children, yes, but His sight didn't extend to where His children weren't. This time, however, He was in luck. For the first time in six thousand years, He could finally look upon the world that had given Him so much trouble. A single family located in a small village on the western subcontinent, with one luckily employed at the location of the anomaly - they were His.

Arceus noted that much had changed since the last time He saw it in full, although that admittedly was only a partial observation. That was to be expected, after all; six thousand years had passed. All things change given enough time. The small tribes of the past had coalesced into kingdoms, united into empires, prospered for a time, declined and collapsed via decadence or infighting or outside invasion or natural disaster or all the above, and picked themselves up to start all over again. A time traveler could learn much more, but the most basic glance at the number and architectural variety of abandoned and ruined structures suggested that this cycle of civilizations had repeated itself on the western subcontinent at least five times... in the last two thousand years alone. At the present, the region's technological and cultural state was roughly equivalent to His world’s Early Modern period, with the mages, who had once lived alongside their non-magical neighbors as their protectors, asserting a divine right to rule over them.

“How crude,” Arceus muttered to Himself. That information, although interesting, was not His concern. He focused again on the source of the anomaly: oddly enough, a young girl, with hair on the lighter side of pink, dressed in what appeared to be a university uniform - judging by the dress of her compatriots - complete with a pentagram-engraved brooch and cape. Compared to her compatriots, she was quite unassuming, with the only distinguishable features being her pink hair and less than developed figure.

“A Familiar Summoning. Of course,” Arceus snarled as He pieced together what was happening. Judging by the creatures that were around what He assumed were her fellow students, Arceus figured that the girl before him was the source of the disturbance. Worse, given what her intended summoning was, she could only have one possible affinity. “Void.” Oh, how Arceus hated the term, ever since He first encountered this meaning of it six thousand years earlier. Arceus was about to turn away when, to His surprise, the girl began to chant again.

If twice was rare, three times was unprecedented. No other Void mage had ever attempted to summon something from His world three times. Most gave up after the first try, or simply summoned something else, so what was driving this girl to try to summon one of His children three times? Was it power? After all, her target had a lot of potential. Status? Fame? At this point, His annoyance became cold anger at the rosette’s actions and He was about to dismiss the summoning again when an errant thought stopped Him. Although Arceus had been dealing with these summonings for thousands of years, He never had a chance to discover why they kept happening, why those "Void" mages kept trying to enslave his children. Until now, Arceus never had the opportunity to explore Halkegenia in full, merely glimpses as he stopped the various summonings from over the years. But since this girl kept attempting her summoning, He could now to hijack the summoning from the onset, turning it from a one-way gate into a two-way bridge that He could, at least for the moment, use to his advantage. While He would need a scout to better understand the Void mage and the land itself, Arceus already had a little sprite in mind for the task, and although in Halkegenia the gate would only be open for a fraction of a second, for beings of time that would be an eternity. It would be more than enough to satiate both of their curiosities.

Now, after all these years, He had a perfect opportunity to question one of these mages in person, to discover why they kept occurring and why this girl persisted instead of giving up like all her predecessors. If he could stop a summoning, what stopped Him from reversing it and bringing her to Him? He could easily pull her through, interrogate her, and return her to the university without any of her peers noticing.

With His mind made up, Arceus ordered the sprite to gather intel on the Void mage and the land she called home. Once Celebi made it through, Arceus forced His will upon the spell, overpowered the magic and intention of the caster, and instead of something crossing over into her world, she was brought over to His.

* * *

 

The smoke from Louise's latest failure cleared, revealing... a place that wasn't the Academy grounds. She stood on a floor of the clearest glass she'd ever seen, framed by pristine lines of white marble. A matching stairway behind her connected to a ruin of much less intact stone that looked like it was maybe possibly important hundreds of years ago. If the clouds further below were any indication, the ruin itself was atop a mountain as high as any in the Romalian Alps, and with her standing a hundred feet above that... it was enough to make her a little woozy. Just a little, though. This still wasn't as bad as that one time she and Henrietta stole a flight on Mr. Fluffles, but at le- A curt series of taps drew Louise's attention to the floor's other occupant, a great, white, horse-like, obviously magical... creature.

The beast itself towered over Louise, standing twice as tall as the girl but feeling even greater, as if she was a mere ant and it a human. It stood on four legs, the white of most of its fur accented by dark gray on its lower neck and underside. Three horns adorned its head, two small ones pointing up from the sides and a grand one on the back - or maybe it was more of a mane? Its hooves shone like pure gold and around its waist was a cross, almost circular in design, shining the same gold as its hooves and adorned with emeralds matching its eyes. It had no mouth Louise could see, but to her shock it somehow began to speak directly into her mind.

“Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière,” the creature began, in a deep, powerful tone that sounded equal parts heavenly and utterly terrifying to the strawberry blonde girl. It continued, not in a natural speaking tone but as if it was simply reading a list of facts - and Louise soon realized the comparison was all too accurate. “Age: 16. Gender: Female. Species: Human, Mage. Status: Daughter of Duchess Karin de la Vallière and current second year student at the Tristainian Academy of Magic.”

“Wha…where am I?! Who are you!?” Louise yelled, frightened out of her mind. To her frustration, the creature ignored her and continued.

“Theoretical applications of magic are stellar, receiving top marks from all professors and tutors.” Louise perked up at that, if only slightly, still too confused and frightened to go any further. “Practical applications leave…something to be desired.” And just like that she deflated. “Ranking: Dot. Affinity: Void.”

“Wait what!?” Louise yelled out in confusion. “I’m a what mage!?”

“You will not interrupt again,” The creature declared, the sheer force of its statement quieting Louise despite herself. Satisfied, it repeated, “Affinity: Void. You were attempting to summon a…familiar, yes?”

After a few moments, Louise spoke up again, her questions pouring out in a flood. “Wha…What? What is going on?! Where am I?! Who are you!? Am I dead?! Oh Founder, I’m dead aren’t I! They all said this would happen! I said it wouldn’t but now I’m here and now I’m dead and…!”

“Silence,” the creature ordered. It sighed, then carried on. “You are not dead. I brought you here to answer a few questions. I will answer yours; you will answer mine," the creature proposed.

Louise didn’t really know what to think. At the very least, she wasn’t dead, but the way the creature spoke... she didn't have a choice, not really. Louise responded before it could grow any more irritated, “I…okay. Before I answer any of your questions, I dema- I want to know who you are, where we are, and why I am here. ...Please?”

The creature stood there, almost in contemplation, before it answered. "I am Arceus, the Original One, the creator of my world. You stand in the Hall of Origin, my home atop Mt. Coronet in the land of Sinnoh, the place upon which I watch over all my children. This is not Tristain, Halkegenia, or any place in your world. You are in mine. Now, I will ask again. You were attempting to summon a familiar, yes?”

Louise almost didn’t hear the question, she was in so much shock. The creature, Arceus, basically called itself a god who had taken her not only out of Tristain but to another world altogether. Not only was that unheard of, it was heresy of the highest order... and she was inclined to believe it. After all, it brought her here, and she could hardly deny its power while standing in such sheer presence. “I…yes. I was partaking in the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ceremony. It’s a sacred-”

“I know what it is. It is a ritual that all mages undertake after their sixteenth year of age where they summon a familiar. I would know what it is, as I have been dealing with it for the past six thousand years.” Annoyance and anger leaked into Arceus's voice, Louise could tell, as its tone intensified. “Every generation, for the past six millennia, at least one person, most of the time many, has attempted to ‘summon’ one of my children, to spirit them away from their homes and families without any regard for them, and bind them to their will!” Arceus was yelling at this point, and Louise was starting to feel the air around her shift with Arceus. “So, when I find that you attempted to kidnap one of my children not once, not twice, but three times, I demand answers!” The force of this last shout was enough to knock Louise over.

“I…Mr. Arceus, I did not intend to kidnap one of your children. I intended to only summon a creature from my home, not from yours. Here.” Louise began to panic at this point. Who wouldn’t, after being told by an angry parent you almost summoned their kid? ...A parent who could easily kill you, as it turned out. It was a long way down from the roof of the world.

“It wasn’t from my Hall, the mountain below, or even Sinnoh. All creatures on the Earth, from Humans, Pokémon to the smallest insect, are my children, my responsibility. After what that fool did, I was not about to let another one of my children suffer at the hands of a Void mage!” Arceus snarled, but then seemed to calm itself upon looking at the fear on Louise’s face. “For the past six thousand years I have blocked these summonings - and yes, before you ask, I am the one who stopped your first two attempts. But when you kept trying to summon one of my children, rather than stop like all your predecessors did and either abandon the summoning or summon something from your world, you persisted. Why?”

“Wait, you…stopped my summoning? Both times?” Louise asked, hope and irritation rising in her voice: hope from the knowledge that she perhaps wasn’t a failure, and irritation as to know beginning to realize why she failed. “Did you cause all my spells to misfire too?!”

“Only your failed summons were my doing. As I said previously, you are a Void mage and simply used the wrong element. Now answer the question: Why. Did. You. Keep. Persisting?”

At this point, Louise was no longer scared, or at least that fear she had got replaced by anger, and she refused to back down. “That was not my intention! I kept trying because if I didn’t summon something, anything, I would have been a failure as a mage and as a noble!"

Arceus stared down at her, looking at her with a strange look in its eyes, before it once again spoke. “I see. Not malice, then, but desperation?”

“Yes!” Louise yelled.

After a moment of contemplation, Arceus calmly answered. "I believe you.”

“Thank you. Now, I will take my familiar and be on my way.” Louise shot back, fully done with this situation, and turned to leave.

“No.” Arceus's abrupt reply caught Louise off guard, causing her to trip.

“What!? Why not!?” Louise yelled back at Arceus, in righteous anger.

“You are not worthy of it.” Arceus’ answer stopped all thoughts in Louise’s head. “No matter. You will be home shortly. No time will have passed for the others.” Arceus turned his back towards Louise, preparing to send her back, however only one thought passed through Louise’s mind.

‘ _Not worthy? NOT WORTHY!!_ ’ Louise shook with indignation. How dare this thing, this foreign god, this overgrown GOAT! Tell her she wasn’t worthy after all she’d been through! She could not, would not return without a familiar, without proof of being a mage, not after being told the only reason why she wouldn’t have proof was become some being decided she didn’t deserve it. So, with its back turned, Louise used the one thing she knew she was good at and aimed at the back of Arceus’ head. “Fireball!”

The spell went wide, trailing off into the sky and exploding in the distance, hitting nothing but air. Arceus turned and faced her in amusement.

“Not worthy!? I am not worthy!? What, am I not good enough!? Is the ridicule and humiliation I went through not ‘worthy’ enough to gain anything!?” Louise screamed out, even as Arceus levitated her up to its face.

“You are not worthy of it because you didn’t earn it. You summoning one of my children would have been cheating. The runes you would have placed upon it could have bent it to your will. You wouldn’t have earned its friendship. It would be your slave!” Arceus's voice could have frozen lava, with cracks of anger coming though as he continued, but Louise was unmoved.

“Oh, so if I ‘earned’ it then there would be no problem!?”

“Correct.”

“Well then, what do I have to do to ‘earn the privilege’ that is my familiar!?”

At this, Arceus went silent as he mulled the situation over, quickly going through the possible futures for the girl in front of him. He could just send her back regardless, but that wouldn't solve the issue at hand, and would also have started her on a very dark path. Finally, after what felt like an age, he spoke.

“You would have to go on a Journey, wher-” Before Arceus could even finish his sentence, Louise interrupted him.

“I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“I said I’ll do it. I don’t care what this ‘Journey’ requires of me, if it means getting my familiar and proving you wrong I’ll do anything!”

Arceus went silent for a moment before speaking with degree of finality “Very well. I will give you your chance to prove yourself.”

“Of course. Now, send me back to Tristain and I…”

“What made you think that your Journey would be in Tristain? In Halkegenia? Or even in your world?”

At this, Louise’s thoughts, for a second time in about…ten minutes? Time seemed different here, but regardless, dread began to build in Louise.

“Wha…. what do you mean?” She asked timidly, slowly realizing that she just agreed to something that she really shouldn’t have.

“Your Journey will be in my world, on Earth.” Louise almost wanted to ask if the overgrown goat was serious but with one look at its face said it all.

“I didn’t agree to that!” Louise yelled out as a white light began to surround her.

“Oh, but you did. ‘I don’t care what this ‘Journey’ requires of me, if it means getting my familiar and proving you wrong I’ll do anything’,” Arceus said in a perfect recreation of her own voice. "I will be monitoring your progress. You have one year to prove yourself to me, after which we will meet again.”

“NOW JUST A MINUTE YOU DAMNED GOAT! I DEMA-!” Louise screamed before vanishing in a bright light, leaving Arceus alone once again.

“As noisy as an Exploud.” Arceus mused, before a green flash appeared beside Him. “Have you finished exploring?” Arceus asked, quickly noting the concerned expression on her face.

The small green sprite quickly started chattering off a reply. “Yes, and it’s not good, not good at all there. A large war is on the verge of breaking out and a big, no, HUGE disaster that is on the way, you remember Shamouti? The oversized birds throwing a temper tantrum? That is NOTHING compared to this! And that's not even mentioning the-"

"I see," Arceus muttered as He quickly processed the information. Apparently, that other world had more problems than he initially thought, and without a reliable way to travel there was not much He could do. Perhaps... “How long can she be gone before the timeline begins to fracture, Celebi?”

Celebi quickly chattered off a reply. “Seven days, maybe, fourteen if we push it. Any more than that and we risk a temporal instability or a cataclysmic spatial collapse or-”

“Very well. Ask Dialga to modify the time dilation. I want a week to have passed, at most, by the time she's done.”

"You sure that girl will help things there?" Celebi spoke, looking skeptically at the place where Louise once stood.

“Perhaps, if she proves herself." A short silence fell over the hall before the sprite spoke up.

"Are you sure she's gonna be alright? Getting dropped into a strange world all alone without anyone to help her and only the clothes on her back and-"

"I placed her somewhere she will get the right start to her journey, if she accepts it. I’m not heartless."

Celebi nodded before vanishing in a flash of green light, leaving Arceus alone in the chamber once again.

“Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière. I hope, for your sake, you prove me wrong."

[~][~]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Welcome to Outsiders, a Familiar of Zero/Pokemon crossover I've been working on over the past year with the help of Firebird Zoom, Grendel4823, Catboy41 (or Yuri_Vamp, her AO3 username), wildrook, SwiftRosenthal (before he left the project), and PurveyorOfBadIdeas. This story started over on Forums.Spacebattles.Net, was later ported over to Fanfiction.Net, but we've decided to move the story onto Archive of Our Own as well.
> 
> Please let us know what you guys think. I try to respond to everyone's comments, so long as they aren't spoilers. Hope you guys enjoy!


	2. Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise arrives in Lumiose City and has to grapple with the fact that now she is in an entirely alien world. Professor Augustine Sycamore, meanwhile, comes face to face with a young, scared little girl who is unsure of where to go next.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 2**

* * *

Over the countless generations since the spell was first invented by the Founder himself, many had wondered what exactly the process of being summoned as a Familiar was like. No human had ever been summoned before and there was no way to tell what happened in transit, until Louise. She traveled though a tunnel of stars, more stars than anyone could ever count. If she focused, Louise could even make out strange creatures moving about that defied logic. Explaining the process that a familiar goes through in a summoning would be a magical breakthrough, if Louise ever made it home - or had been paying attention. Instead, her rage at Arceus and her stomach turning itself inside out ensured that she did anything but.  
  
“-AMAAAAH!” Louise screamed as the wormhole dumped her onto solid and quite hard ground. “Ohhh…” Louise groaned in pain and nausea. As she laid sprawled across the ground, trying to keep the contents of her breakfast safely inside her stomach, she slowly began investigating her surroundings.  
  
It appeared to be an alleyway of some kind, blocked on one end by a fence. To her left and right were two buildings, what appeared to be some strange form of housing, judging by the clotheslines strung across the gap. Next to her were some strange metal canisters with detachable metal lids. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, Louise figured it to be some form of waste container. A glance upward, toward the darkened sky, told her night had fallen, but Louise couldn’t make out any stars, just the outlines of clouds faintly illuminated from below. It might rain tonight, based off the sounds of distant thunder she heard.  
  
“Where did that goat-“ Louise began, muttering to herself, before the canister made a sound and she jumped to her feet... in hindsight, a bit too quickly, as another wave of nausea hit her. Desperately trying to keep herself from vomiting, she become deathly silent and still as she gave the container her undivided attention. Not a sound could be heard from the alley, excepting the bustling of the townsfolk walking on the street next to her. Louise paid them no heed, as she continued staring at the container.  
  
“Just my imagination,” Louise sighed in relief as no other sounds came from the large container. But just as she turned around to get her bearings, the container began to shake and more sounds came out of it. But when Louise turned back around, the can appeared inert and lifeless... and a step closer to Louise than before. Trickles of sweat began to appear on Louise’s forehead as she stared at the container, her right-hand edging toward her wand and her left arm crossed in front of her in some makeshift shield.  
  
“Okay, I’m leaving now. Stay where you are,” Louise timidly said as she began to back away from the large metal can. Once she got far enough away, she turned around once again, only to hear the telltale sounds of the container shuffling about and the grinding of metal on stone. When Louise turned around again, to her horror the container was now right behind her, with only a few inches separating them. Now frightened, Louise held out her wand towards the container as it began to shake.  
  
“Rule of steel, rule of steel, rule of steel…” Louise chanted to herself, trying to calm herself down. Realizing that whatever was causing the can to move was inside it, Louise shakily reached towards the lid handle while preparing to cast a spell on whatever foul creature lurked within.  
  
“Aaagh!” Louise shouted out as she threw the lid off the container. Only, nothing came out. Steadily, her wand at the ready, she leaned forward to peek inside the dark interior. To her surprise, it was empty. No trash, no creature, nothing was inside. “Hello?” she asked, hoping to not receive an answer. But a question asked deserves an answer, and the darkness melted away to reveal what appeared to be a black and red foxlike creature, small enough to be held. Louise would have thought it to be adorable, if not for the fact that it jumped right at her face right after it materialized.  
  
“Aieee!” Louise shrieked, and turned around and fled to the street. If she had listened, she would have noticed sounds of laughter coming from the alleyway, but she paid them no heed as she ran out of the alley and onto the street. What she found frightened her more than the creature had.  
  
Buildings surrounded her on all sides, larger and more numerous than she had ever seen, with some looking like they scratched the sky itself. The street she was one dwarfed the largest streets of Tristanville, her country’s capital city. And the lights! There were enough lights shining that she could see perfectly despite it being nighttime. And there was no smoke coming out, meaning these lights weren’t candles! There were more people on this street, commuting and conversing with one another, than she had ever seen in any one place, and she had been at Tristanville’s marketplace at the start of the season!  
  
But the greatest shock came when Louise looked up. Gone were her two familiar blue and pink moons. Instead, there was just one large gray moon, alone in a faint sea of stars. Louise no longer doubted her location. She was no longer in Tristain, no longer in Halkegenia, no longer...  
  
“He was telling the truth. I’m on another world…” Louise despaired under her breath as a fresh wave of nausea slammed into her. In a daze, she took a frantic look around for something, anything that looked familiar. After a short search, Louise finally spotted something a short distance away: a bench that faced the street. Granted, it was surrounded by glass, with a piece of metal hanging over it, but it was a rock of familiarity in this alien world. Louise approached it in a daze, idly noting the strange...things that moved along the street in as the back of her mind screamed back at all the noise.  
  
Finally reaching the bench, she quickly slumped down on it, noting that it was made from metal and not wood, and desperately tried to organize her thoughts. What was she supposed to do now? That damn goat never told her. Maybe if she just sat there long enough, the world would start making sense or she would wake up in her bed back at the academy, Louise idly mused, as tears ran down her face.

* * *

Today was one of those days, Professor Augustine Sycamore figured. It started before he even woke up, with the weirdest dream he could ever remember not being able to remember. He could only recall an intense desire to be somewhere at a certain time. Collectors continued to name considerable sums for a Pokémon currently in his care - a much less unusual event, certainly, but at this point it was becoming a daily chore just to turn them away at the front door and refuse all offers. Worst of all, he learned that his current jug of MooMoo milk had gone sour, which, considering it was only a few days old, was just as strange as the dream and far less pleasant to discover. It must have been a bad jug, he thought. Either way, he now had to go out that night to the store, just to get milk. With no buses running this late at night, that meant he had to walk.  
  
Regardless, Augustine couldn’t say the task was any great chore. The night air of Lumiose was always enjoyable to walk around in, to hear the joy of people as they lived their lives, to meet with friends new and old, or to smell the sweet aromas of Kalosian cuisine. This trip to the store was uneventful; the capstone of his long day happened on his way back instead.  
  
As Augustine came upon a bus stop, he saw a young woman sitting alone on its bench. Now, that by itself wasn’t peculiar. After all, waiting at a bus stop is what people do when they need to catch a bus. But the buses stopped running hours ago, and his confusion began to shift into concern as he got closer and saw that the girl was hunched over and sobbing into her hands. Had Augustine been a lesser man, he would have kept walking, figuring that it was none of his business. Fortunately, he was not a lesser man.  
  
“Are you alright, Miss?” Augustine asked the woman. This seemed to startle her, as she quickly shot upright and turned to face him, the whites of her pink eyes stained red from tears that she hastily wiped from her face. “Ma’am?” Augustine asked again, concern clear in his voice.  
  
“I’m…I’m fine, sir. I just…don’t know where I am. I’ll be fine,” the girl shakily replied. Augustine didn’t buy it for a second.  
  
“Mademoiselle, you do know that the buses don't run at night, correct? And it’s going to rain soon?”  
  
“I…I’ll be fine, sir. I just have to figure things out.”  
  
Augustine prided himself on his ability to judge a person's character and background. After all, if he gave a young trainer their Starter, and that person mistreated their new Pokémon, he'd blame himself for putting the creature into that environment. Looking at this girl... the clothes she wore looked expensive and like some private school uniforms he’d seen, telling him that the girl came from wealth and was a student at some academy. Which one, he couldn’t determine, as the uniform was not like anything he had ever seen. With the brooch and what appeared to be some form of wand she was holding, Augustine figured her to be a fan of the occult, something that wasn’t uncommon. Judging by her responses, he figured that she was a runaway and didn’t know what to do. He, however, did.  
  
“Do you mind if I sit here?” Augustine asked her. She looked at him in surprise before nodding in affirmation, upon which he sat down on the other side of the bench. “What is your name?”  
  
“My…my name?” The girl replied, surprise and confusion ringing loud and clear for Augustine to hear.  
  
“Your name. I want to know your name.” When she didn’t respond, Augustine continued. “I am Professor Augustine Sycamore. What is yours?”  
  
At the mention of the ‘Professor’, the girl seemed to perk up a bit. “A Professor?” She asked him, hope finally beginning to sound in her voice.  
  
“Yes. I am the head of the Kalos Pokémon Research Lab here in Lumiose. I specialize in the study of Mega Evolution and how Pokémon change.”  
  
“I…I don’t know what any of that means.” Now Augustine was the one who was confused. What did she mean by that? Before he could voice his confusion, the girl continued, now seemingly feeling better and more secure. “I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Professor.”  
  
“I… I’m happy to make your acquaintance too, Miss Vallière. Now, what did you mean when-” Lightning flashed in the distance and thunder sounded soon after. The rain would be here soon, and neither of them were equipped to handle the weather. Dropping his question for now, Augustine continued. “We have to get out of the rain. Do you have a place to stay tonight?”  
  
Louise hesitated before shamefully shaking her head. That was a problem, he noted. With how bad things were getting, Louise could get sick or worse without any shelter. With that in mind, Augustine made a decision. “Okay, my lab is close by. You can stay there for the night. Is that alright with you, Miss Vallière?”  
  
“You’re…what? Why? We don’t even know each other?” Louise asked, surprise clearly in her voice.  
  
“Because the closest Pokémon Center is five kilometers down the road while my lab is only one, and it looks like the rain is going to start any minute now, and I am not about to let a young woman like yourself stay out in the rain. That, and mostly because it is the right thing to do.” Left unsaid was the feeling of pity that formed in Augustine’s heart for Louise.  
  
Louise was shocked at Professor Sycamore’s kindness. After all, they’d only known each other for merely a few minutes and now he was offering his home to her for the night. But in her situation, both with the botched summoning and the oncoming rain, she would take any relief she would get.  
  
“Alright, Professor Sycamore. Founder bless you for your generosity. I won't forget it.” Louise knew that the Professor wouldn’t know who the Founder was, but that didn’t mean the meaning would get across, which judging by the look on his face was clearly received.  
  
“Thank you, Miss Vallière. Let's hurry, before the rain starts hitting too hard.”  
  
Unfortunately, halfway to the Lab, the rain hit full force in a raging storm. Louise was now even more thankful for the professor’s offer, as she would have been even worse had she stayed at the covered bench. But now, after reaching the lab entrance, she could finally escape the rain, and did just that once Sycamore got the doors open. Stepping through the threshold, she took stock of the lab itself. It appeared to be full funded, filled with strange tools and devices that she couldn’t even fathom the use for.  
  
“Well, that was a trip. You stay right there while I get us some towels to dry ourselves off with. Would you like some hot cocoa?” Professor Sycamore asked, snapping Louise out of her investigation of some darkened mirror attacked to some strange box with letters on a board.  
  
“Oh, yes thank you. What's hot coc-” Louise started to answer Sycamore until she was interrupted by the arrival of something else. Louise stood in silent horror as a large bipedal creature entered the room. It looked like a shark had grown legs and arms and had begun to walk on dry land, with razor sharp fangs and claws on its body. And it was rapidly heading towards the professor, whose back was turned towards the creature. Louise couldn’t let the monster harm the man who had helped her, so she dived towards the professor, knocking him out of the way of the creature, and aimed her wand forward and cast a spell, shouting “Fireball!” Luckily it the spell hit head on, mostly due to the range, and sent the thing though a nearby wall.  
  
“It’s okay, Professor! I got this, you-!” Louise started, intending to get the kind man to safety. But to her surprise, that is not what happened.  
  
“Garchomp!” Sycamore yelled out in concern and ran toward, rather than away from the fallen creature, apparently called Garchomp. The creature, however, had managed to push itself off the ground before the professor reached it and, much faster then what Louise thought possible, stepped between her and the professor and proceeded to give her a look and stance that looked like a combination of trying to judge if she was a threat or not as well as trying to figure out what the hell had happened. At this point, Louise realized her mistake and tried to move to a table so she could set her wand down, but a deep growl that emanated from its throat immediately rooted her to the floor, leaving her to silently pray that the professor would not kick her back out into the rain for attempting to kill his guard do-SHARK.  
  
Luckily, that did not seem to be the case. "It's okay, Garchomp, she's a friend," Sycamore said, quickly stepping out from behind it and patting it on the arm in what Louise hoped was a soothing motion.  
  
The guard shark gave him a sidelong look, pointedly keeping one eye on her, and let lose a strange combination of growls and snarls. Louise noted that it did not sound nearly as an aggressive as earlier, as it seemed to converse with the professor.  
  
"Yes I knew she was there, her name is Louise and she's just a traveler who needs some help," the professor continued to placate the Guard Shark, as it continued to eye an increasingly panicking Louise before finally nodding, causing Louise to release a breath she was holding since she first saw the Garchomp.  
  
"Could you get us some towels, so we can dry off while I get us something to eat?" The professor asked, as he assessed the damaged wall that Garchomp flew through. He quickly received what sounded almost conversational type of reply as Garchomp lumbered back into the darkness.  
  
"Yes, I will be sure to get some Sitrus Berries and fish out," He called back out into the darkness and turned back around to Louise "Come on, it will take him some time to get the towels. Let's get something to eat while we wait."  
  
"I'm sorry about shoving you aside, and for destroying the wall, and-" Louise quickly loosed a stream of apologies before she was quickly cut off.  
  
"Think nothing of it," Sycamore gave her a reassuring smile as he lead her too what she assumed was the kitchen "I’m used to the wall needing repairs and I've had worse conversation starters. Although, I must ask, how DID you do that?"

* * *

Louise had quite the eventful day, and at this point she can say without question that it would rank up among the worst days of her life. There were only two mitigating factors so far that prevented it from becoming the absolute worst day of her life. One, Professor Sycamore was a kind and understanding man who realized quickly that Louise made a mistake and was only trying to protect him from what she perceived to be a threat. Garchomp wasn’t as forgiving, as it was still giving Louise the stink eye as it ate from a bowl of berries and fish from the other side of the room. The other, most important reason? Louise had discovered what hot cocoa was. By the time she had finished explaining everything to Sycamore, her magic, where she came from, her botched summoning and her ‘chat’ with Arceus, which itself took about thirty minutes, she was already finishing her sixth cup.  
  
"...Where I found you. Did I leave anything out?”  
  
Louise could tell that Professor Sycamore had trouble believing what she was saying and meekly replied after taking another sip from what was her seventh cup of hot cocoa. “You forgot one affinity, Void, which not only hasn’t been seen in six thousand years but, according to Arceus, is my actual affinity, the haunted bin that was possessed by a demonic creature aaa-” Louise interrupted herself as a yawn tore its way out of her mouth "-nnnddd the large, talking, self-centered goat with a god complex."  
  
“Ah, yes. Can’t forget about all of that.” Sycamore replied as he got off the couch and walked over to a nearby window, looking out onto the city streets, running his hand through his hair.  
  
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Louise whispered, dejection heard in her voice.  
  
“I’ll admit, it’s a little hard to believe. Magic, dimensional travel, meeting Arceus himself in the Hall of Origin. It’s a lot to take in all at once.”  
  
At this, Louise began to retreat inward. Who knew what would happen now. She began to fear the worst when Sycamore began to speak again. “But I think I do.”  
  
“You do!?” Louise exclaimed in surprise and joy, while Garchomp growled out the same only in confusion.  
  
“Yes, I do. First, it is obvious that you can do magic, judging by the hole in my wall. And before you apologize for the tenth time, it’s fine. You be surprised how often that happens around here and Garchomp wasn’t injured. Second, other dimensions aren’t unknown to us. Based on the description you gave me about your transit, I can narrow it down to a few places but I would need to run some tests to be for sure, if that is alright with you?” Louise nodded in affirmation, upon which Sycamore continued. “Third, you were able to describe Arceus quite accurately to the legend without any prior knowledge of it. Finally, just to make sure, you don’t know what Pokémon are, do you?”  
  
At Sycamore’s expectant look, Louise hesitated a moment before responding. “No, Professor. Am I correct in assuming that Garchomp over there is a Pokémon? If so, he is a fine specimen.” At this, Garchomp began to look offended as Sycamore laughed.  
  
“Hah, you are half right. Garchomp is a Pokémon, specifically a Garchomp. And she is a girl.”  
  
Louise began to look back and forth at Garchomp and Sycamore at this statement several times before focusing on Sycamore again. “You…named a Garchomp ‘Garchomp’?”  
  
Sycamore chuckled to himself before answering “I admit, not the most creative of names, but not all trainers like to nickname their Pokémon. And Garchomp doesn’t mind, do you girl?” At this, Garchomp growled in what seemed to be affirmation.  
  
Louise, not quite gotten over the lack of proper naming, decided to move on. “You said that Garchomp is a Pokémon, specifically a Garchomp. Does that mean that there are multiple different species of Pokémon?”  
  
“Yes, that is correct. As of right now, there are over 802 registered species of Pokémon, scattered across the world. Most are in Regions, which would be our equivalent to your world’s kingdoms. Specifically, you are in Lumiose City, the capital and largest city of the Kalos Region, which itself is home to over 450 individual Pokémon species.”  
  
“That's quite a lot…” Louise muttered as she tried to wrap her head around the idea of there being that many different Pokémon.  
  
“Yes, and more are discovered every day. That being said, many of those species are merely Evolutions from another species.”  
  
“Evolution?” Louise questioned as she finished off her cup of cocoa.  
  
“Ah, I figured you wouldn’t know what that was. Evolution is a process that many Pokémon go through, once they reach certain criteria. It could be physical strength, the strength of their bond with their trainer, whether it be through friendship or affection, the use of specialized Evolution Stones, and many more. Some even evolve when in proximity to other Pokémon species or depending on the time of day, and others still only evolve after trading, with some needing to be holding a specialized item during the exchange.” At this, Sycamore gestured towards the large land shark, who was still keeping a close eye on the rosette but seemed to perk up at the attention.  
  
“Garchomp over here started off as a Gible, for example, before evolving into a Gabite, then finally into a Garchomp,” At this, Sycamore pulled out a strange red device with a black sheet of glass in the middle, which to Louise’s surprise lit up and displayed an image of a small shark like creature, only stubby and not quite as threatening looking, but it was still a shark with legs. Louise gazed upon it in wonder as Sycamore began to talk again. “This is called a Pokédex. It’s a handheld encyclopedia containing information about all species of Pokémon. The image on the screen is a picture of a Gible, the first stage of Garchomp.”  
  
“Wow…” Louise breathed out in amazement, suppressing another yawn that was trying too bubble out. “Are all the creatures on this world Pokémon?”  
  
“No, not all. We do have non-Pokémon species of animal. Most are domesticated, however, and raised for food such as cows, chickens and fish. A few people do like to eat Pokémon, but that's rare nowadays, especially after the decimation of the Far’Fetched species.”  
  
This information was astounding to Louise, as her curiosity slowly began to eat away at the toils of the day. “So, Arceus is a Pokémon, too?”  
  
“Arceus is what we would call a Legendary Pokémon, specifically a Mythical Pokémon, Legendaries so rare they are thought of only as myths. Before you, I have only meet three other people who claimed they saw him and two of them were drunk at the time." Sycamore lightly smiled at the memory "According to legend, Arceus created the world and all its inhabitants.”  
  
“So that’s why he called himself the ‘Original One’…”  
  
“Few others would be able to make such a claim, much less be able to back it up. Anyways, back to your story. You mentioned Arceus wanted you to go on a journey to prove your ‘worth’ to him. Do you know what it is he wants you to do?”  
  
At this, Louise became silent. She still, even now, didn’t know what Arceus expected of her. What did he mean by ‘prove her worth’? By ‘going on a journey’? How was she supposed to do that?  
  
“I…I don’t know.” Louise muttered. “I don’t know what to do…”  
  
At this, Sycamore sighed to himself and began to think, bringing his hand to his chin. “Arceus gave you a year to prove yourself, correct?”  
  
“I…yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”  
  
“It means you have time to figure it out.”  
  
“Well, what am I supposed to do until then?!” Louise exclaimed, irritation at her situation as well as exhaustion from the day beginning to be heard in her voice. Before she could apologize, Sycamore spoke up again.  
  
“You can stay with me, here in the lab.”  
  
Louise was shocked into silence, which lasted for a few moments before she worked up the courage to speak back up, albeit only able to do so in a whisper. “What?”  
  
“I said you can stay here with me.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because you need the help.” At this, Sycamore smiled at Louise, whose eyes began to water.  
  
“I…thank you, Professor! If there is anything I can do to help, just ask!” Louise exclaimed in joy as she practically leapt up from her chair before realizing her mistake and sitting back down again in embarrassment, to which Sycamore merely laughed.  
  
“I don’t need anything from you, Louise, but if you want to help I won’t stop you. Come on, I’ll show you to the guest room.”  
  
At this, Sycamore held his hand out to Louise, who, after a moment’s hesitation, reached out and grabbed it.

[~][~]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Here is the second chapter. Once again, special thanks to Firebird Zoom, Catboy41 (or Yuri_Vamp, as is her username on AO3), wildrook, Grendel4823, and SwiftRosenthal for their work on this particular chapter. Let us know what you guys think!


	3. Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise begins to adapt to life in Kalos as an assistant to Professor Sycamore, learning about the world she finds herself in, dealing with the facets of modern life, and meeting new and unique Pokemon. Including one with whom she feels a far deeper connection to, sparking a friendship that will last a lifetime.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 3**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Louise had arrived in Sycamore's lab and she already found herself with plenty of things to occupy her time. She always prided herself in her academic performance. After all, it was the only part of Academy life she excelled at. Here in the lab, it was no different. Already a naturally curious person, that curiosity exploded forth in Louise’s new situation and when she wasn’t being Sycamore’s assistant, she learned everything she could about the world she was in.  
  
This led Louise to make a few discoveries for herself. For starters, Louise figured out that when Sycamore told her about Pokémon, he left out details, if only to avoid overwhelming her. Namely, he left out the concepts of Types, Moves, Stats, Abilities, and Egg Groups. Types, as Louise discovered, were part of the classification for Pokémon. There were 18 Types in total, much like the Elements known to her world, only much more specialized and diverse. Normal types, Louise figured, were the closest to her world’s regular animals. Fire type Pokémon had a close affinity to fire itself and could survive extremely hot conditions and even use Fire as part of their defense. Water type Pokémon lived in or around water. Grass type Pokémon seemed to have a symbiotic relationship with plants and were often some sort of plant-animal hybrid. There were many more, each stranger than the last. Some Pokémon appeared to be living rocks or pieces of metal!  
  
Moves were another concept that Sycamore left out. Louise discovered them to be a simple enough concept to grasp. Moves were simply the names given to the specialized offensive and defensive techniques that Pokémon used. Some moves were stronger than others. Usually, however, the more powerful moves weaken the user. They were also tied to Stats, which were official numbers used and calculated to determine a Pokémon’s strength. They were developed several decades prior by Professor Samuel Oak in the Kanto Region to help better understand Pokémon. Abilities were self-explanatory. They were the scientific community's terms for the natural traits that affected every Pokémon's powers, whether it prevented them from ever falling asleep or simply boosted the strength of their moves in a last minute second wind.  
  
The one concept Louise still did not get were Egg Groups. Apparently, Pokémon of different species could often interbreed with one another to produce viable offspring. That she could understand, after all she had experience with mules, which themselves are the offspring of horses and donkeys. But, mules were sterile, which meant that when she read that the offspring of Pokémon from different species could then go on to produce viable offspring themselves, it caused Louise a great deal of confusion. Did that mean that the species of Pokémon weren’t different species but rather separate breeds of the same species? Was each Pokémon a sub-species of some progenitor species?  
  
There were, however, some embarrassments in her pursuit of knowledge. When she discovered the light switch, she spent about a minute simply flipping it on and off. And when the TV, as she later learned it was called, was first turned on, she hid behind a couch in fright. She was lucky Sycamore wasn’t in the room when that happened, and she would take that secret to her grave. But for the most part, Louise enjoyed her time in Sycamore’s lab. She was learning new things, about Pokémon and modern technology, knowledge that she planned to take back with her to Tristain.  
  
Louise reminded herself of all this as she walked into Sycamore's office.  
  
“I swear, for such an intelligent man, he cannot keep a place clean to save his life,” Louise sighed in annoyance as she gazed upon the room. Sycamore had asked her to retrieve some documents from the room in question, and upon reaching the room Louise had to ask herself: How can anyone find anything in this mess? What with stacks of paper everywhere, some almost reaching the ceiling, books just scattered all over the ground, what appeared to be coffee stains on the main desk - a substance Louise tried and discovered to be a foul, bitter beverage that paled to the glory that was hot cocoa. Of interest was a small red and white ball on the desk, placed on some sort of stand. Louise figured it was some sort of trophy.  
  
Unfortunately, Sycamore didn’t have a maid and she couldn’t ask her host to clean up his room, not to mention he was currently in a call with someone named Burnet over in someplace called Alola, so Louise sighed in resignation and began to clean the room herself. She reorganized the books on the ground, placed the stacks of paper in appropriate folders, and even began to dust the floor. During that time, she found what she was originally looking for, but by then she had already gotten some headway into cleaning the room and Louise hated quitting on something she started. Finally, she moved on to the desk itself.  
  
“This is commoner’s work…” Louise grumbled as she worked to remove a particularly tough coffee stain. It must have been there for quite some time, given how difficult it was to remove. This caused her to triple her efforts, if just remove the cursed stain and finally give Sycamore his paper more than an hour after he asked for it. Unfortunately, she worked a bit too hard and accidentally knocked the ball to the ground.  
  
“No, no, no, no, come back here!” Louise yelled out as she crawled after the ball, which began rolling around on the hardwood floor. Finally, after a few seconds of desperate crawling, she managed to grab the ball, to which she sighed in relief.  
  
“Oh, thank the Founder. Okay, let’s make sure you aren’t damaged…” Louise muttered to herself as she began to inspect the ball. Luckily, it appeared that the ball itself was very well made and highly durable, as there were no scratches or dents to be found. As Louise sighed in relief, she accidentally pushed a small button somewhere on the ball, causing it to simultaneously open and emitted a bright, almost liquid form of energy that erupted out of the ball, causing Louise to drop the ball in surprise, and coalesced in front of her, which solidified into a small Pokémon.  
  
The creature itself looked like a fox, based off its overall body type and ears. It had larges tufts of fur coming out of its ears and a short, fluffy tail, with the ear tufts and tip of the tail being maroon in color and a purplish-grey coat.  
  
“What the…” Louise wondered aloud as she and the fox gazed upon each other in confusion. Before Louise could do anything else, the fox had jumped back slightly and hunched itself down and began to growl, causing Louise to yelp and flinch backward.  
  
Louise quickly decided to get the fox back inside the ball, as the professor had it in there for a reason. After a quick look around, Louise managed to locate where the strange ball had landed. Unfortunately, it was close to where the fox currently stood, leering at her.  
  
She quickly threw out her first plan, just approaching the ball from a different angle, as soon as she took a step forward. The fox growled again, causing Louise to immediately take a step back.  
  
Risking a quick look around, Louise spotted a few cubes that were sitting on the desk, which Sycamore told her were treats for the various kinds of Pokémon, and reasoned that they had to be for the creature before her.  
  
Taking a few steps back, much to the visible confusion to the Pokémon in front of her, Louise hastily grabbed the blocks and threw them off to one side hoping the creature would go after them.  
  
The flat look she received from the fox would had said a thousand words, none of them pleasant.  
  
Louise's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as the fox continued to look at her. She quickly ran though her other options of moving the creature when it interrupted her thoughts by yelping out what sounded almost like a question, nodding its head in the direction she threw the cubes.  
  
At that point, Louise remembered something the professor had told her yesterday. Despite their appearances, Pokémon were as intelligent as humans and could understand them. Judging from the look the fox was giving her, that bit of information was quite obviously true.  
  
"I was trying to get you to move so I could get to that ball to your left!" The fox followed her finger and apparently noticed for the first time the nearby ball and quickly looked back at her with a confused yelp and expression.  
  
"Yes, that's what this is about! I didn't mean to release you from that thing, why would I want to let you out?"  
  
The fox looked like it was about to reply but cut itself off and after a brief period of silence it causally swatted the ball back toward her.  
  
"Thank you," Louise breathed out as she carefully picked the strange device up and began looking over it noticing several "buttons" positioned at different locations around it. Her investigations were interrupted by a yelp as the fox looked up at her with suspicion in its eyes.  
  
Louise narrowed her eyes as she glared at the fox in front of her. "Yes, yes, I’m getting to it." as she pointed the ball's front at the fox and pressed a button at random.  
  
Louise didn't know what 'returning' a Pokémon looked like, but she didn't think it involved the ball just opening and revealing the inner workings of it. Louise quickly clamped it shut and quickly pressed the next closest one. Unfortunately, all that one did was cause the ball too to shrink in her hand.  
  
Growling in annoyance she repressed the button causing the ball to grow back to its original size and heard the fox making a barking like noise that sounded almost like laughing.  
  
"Oh, shut up," she said, as the embarrassment from earlier crawled back. The next button she tried was finally the right one, sending out a red beam that hit the still grinning fox and made it disappear.  
  
Sighing in relief, she carefully placed the ball back on the stand and quickly grabbed the paper that she sat on the desk earlier - something about a place called Ultra Space, written by a Professor Mohn - and turned to leave the room, when she noticed Sycamore standing in the doorway.  
  
"Oh uh...How long were you standing there?"  
  
"Right after you threw the Pokéblocks to distract Fennekin." Louise was about to stammer out several apologies when a smile crossed Sycamore's face. "It's alright. Usually though, it's a better idea to talk to a Pokémon first instead of trying to get what you want with treats.”  
  
"You're not mad?" Louise questioned, although in the back of her mind she already knew the answer. It seemed impossible for Sycamore to get upset about anything that might happen.  
  
"About what? There's nothing wrong with letting a Pokémon out of their ball. In fact, it's good for their health and lets them stretch their legs. When we get back, we can look at some of the others around the lab." Sycamore smiled as he led her out of the room. The encounter with the Fennekin, as it was apparently called, remained fresh on Louise's mind.  
  
Shortly after her encounter with the grey Fennekin, Sycamore introduced her to the other Fennekins at the lab - six total, including the one she had previously met. To her surprise, the other Fennekins were all yellow, not purple. When Louise asked Sycamore as to why that is, he explained to her that the Fennekin she had met in his office was a 'Shiny' Pokémon, which confused her, as the grey Fennekin wasn’t shiny at all. After further exploration, she learned it referred to the sparkling effect the Shiny Pokémon give out when they are released from a Pokéball. Apparently, some Pokémon, when they hatch from their eggs, are born with a different coloration than other members of their species. Given the aforementioned sparkling, people thought that off-colored Pokémon 'shone,' so the term 'Shiny' stuck.

* * *

A few days later, Sycamore brought Louise to the lab's garden to introduce her to more of the different types of Pokémon.  
  
"In here are a few Fennekins, Chespins, and Froakies in here, along with a pair of Whismurs a trainer brought in. There also is a Purrloin in here...somewhere. There are also a few more in the Pokéballs over on the table, but for now I just want you to get familiar with the ones that are already out." Sycamore pointed to each breed as he listed them off, although he had apparently lost track the Purrloin.  
  
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Louise asked, as she already curiously eyeing the strange pink puffballs that seemed to be quietly conversing with each other.  
  
"Just get some Pokéfood out for them and make sure they don't start any serious fights. Don't worry, though. They're easy going. Just get to know them." Sycamore explained as he pulled out a big bag, that was apparently the Pokéfood, and a selection of bowls.  
  
"I have some things I need to do. If there are any problems I will be in my office." Sycamore added as he walked out of the room, leaving her alone with the strange array of creatures as they started eyeing the strange girl in front of them.  
  
Taking a few nervous breaths, Louise started filling up the bowls with the brown 'food' from the bag. She didn't think it looked appetizing, but the first Pokémon that approached, a Chespin, seemed to enjoy it.  
  
The next two to approach were a pair of Fennekins, two of the odd-colored ones with yellow fur and red highlights instead of purple-and-maroon. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when the two oddly colored ones started growling at the one she met earlier as it cautiously approached.  
  
"Hey, stop it," Louise admonished the pair as she prepared another bowl for the last one. The pair suddenly turned on her and started leering and growling at her.  
  
Louise was not amused by their antics and quickly narrowed her eyes. "Well if that's how you're going to be... Come on Brennaraki!" Louise addressed the purple one, which she now noticed was slightly smaller than the other two and stood sharply up with the current bowl and started walking off. The purple one, after figuring out that Louise had addressed her, followed with a curious look in its eyes.  
  
After a short distance, Louise placed the bowl under the shade of one the garden plants, snapping off a twig and placing it in the bowl, just as the purple fox arrived. "There you go, let me know if Snarl and Growley back there start giving you problems again." Before Louise could return to the bag, the Fennekin stopped her with a yelp. Upon turning around, Louise noticed it was giving her a questioning look, as if asking why she did that.  
  
"Because they were being brats. What's their problem, anyways?" Louise knew she wouldn't be able to get a direct answer from the Fennekin, but just from the look she gave her, she had a good idea. "Anyways, I need to get back before Snarl and Growley start acting like a bunch of pigs and start eating out of the bag. Take care, Brennaraki."  
  
The Fennekin yelped another question in response. "Well I can't just keep calling you Fennekin." Louise replied with a huff. "And Brennaraki seems like a fitting name. Where I come from, it means 'Firefox,' which suits you, I think."  
  
The newly dubbed Brennaraki looked like it was about to ask something else when a crash of something breaking sounded off from the direction of the other Pokémon. Hurrying back to the main area, Louise noticed that a cat had jumped up onto a table and accidentally knocked a glass onto the floor. More pressingly, she saw that the Whismurs looked like they were about to cry.  
  
"Oh nonononono, it's ok. See? It was just a glass. Nothing to get upset about." Louise started trying to placate the puffballs, barely noticing that some music was playing from somewhere, and quickly delivered a bowl of food to them and some treats that Sycamore had left out.  
  
The Whismurs just about settled back down when Louise heard what sounded like a Pokéball activating. Swinging her head around, she found that one of the balls from the table had activated and released a... _something_ from the ball. It had some weird plant on its head and a duck like bill as a mouth and was covered in yellow fur. As it opened its eyes, it registered the music that was playing, causing its eyes to light up. It proceeded to raise one if its legs and released a loud noise from its mouth.  
  
And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Sycamore put his examination of a chunk of rock, which he highly suspected was Beedrillite, on hold when he heard a scratching sound at his door and some muted barking. He took a quick stretch and got up from his current project. "One of the Pokémon must have left the garden and gotten lost," Sycamore muttered to Garchomp, who gave a quick nod in return. Proceeding to the door and opening it, Sycamore looked down to see the Shiny Fennekin give a bunch of concerned yelps and anxiously look back in the direction of the garden.  
  
Concern crossing his face, Sycamore and Garchomp started running - the building's interiors neither wide nor tall enough for Garchomp to safely fly - with the concerned Shiny Fennekin hot on their heels and quickly entered a full sprint as he heard the unmistakable noise of a group of Whismurs crying. When he arrived, the first thing he noticed were the pair of Whismurs that were crying, apparently due to the Ludicolo nearby, itself dancing in tune to the music playing from the speakers around the gardens. Next were a Chespin and a Froakie currently fighting other next to the large bag of food that had been knocked over, with the other Pokémon watching from some ways back. Off in the distance was Louise, as a Duskull and a Gastly chased her screaming form around the garden.  
  
It was times like this that Sycamore especially appreciated having Garchomp with him. The dragon entered the room and, after taking a single look around, released a loud and deafening roar to drown out the chaos, silencing everyone but Louise and the Whismurs.  
  
Quickly, Louise ran toward Sycamore and immediately started talking in a rush. "Ohthankthefounderyou'rehereIdon'tknowwhathappenedtherewasthatthingan-"  
  
Sycamore quickly raised his hands "Louise, slow down. I can't understand what you're saying. Just stop and breathe for a moment."  
  
After taking a few steadying breaths, Louise started again with visible tears in her eyes. "I, I just don't know what happened! First that thing somehow got out of its Pokéball, then those Whismurs started crying, then-" Sycamore raised his hand again, trying to calm her down. Looking at the desk that held the Pokéballs, he quickly spotted the culprit, currently grooming itself.  
  
"Purrloin?" Sycamore called out to the cat in a firm voice as it looked up and gave a questioning look. "Don't give me that. Did you start all of this?" Sycamore waved his hand around the mess the room was in.  
  
The Purrloin gave an innocent sounding meow that failed to fool anyone, including the enraged pinkette. "WHY- YOU DAMNED CAT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU-!" Louise all but screamed as she started stomping toward the Purrloin, which quickly figured out that its charm was not going to get it out of this one and ran off into the gardens.  
  
"YOU DAMNED FLEA BITTEN- GET BACK HERE!" Louise quickly ran after the Purrloin though the gardens. Sycamore sighed and brought his hands up to message his forehead. After looking around to make sure that all the Pokémon were accounted for, he noticed that the Shiny Fennekin had disappeared into the underbrush, apparently in pursuit of the troublesome Purrloin, and the Professor gave a weak smile. Perhaps this bonding session was not a complete failure after all.

* * *

Three days later, and fortunately the next few visits to the garden were far calmer, with Sycamore's presence and Garchomp to keep the other Pokémon in line, Louise finally asked a question that had been bothering her.  
  
“Professor Sycamore, is something wrong with Brennaraki?” Louise queried after giving up on her pursuit of the Purrloin.  
  
Sycamore paused a moment, before starting, “Brennaraki? Oh, the Shiny Fennekin. Well, ‘Brennaraki’ is—”  
  
“Hellooo~!” a feminine voice cried out, cutting off the professor.  
  
Sycamore and Louise both turned towards the exit of the garden. Sycamore kept going, running towards the front entrance of the lab, as he let out a string of curses in what sounded to Louise like a highly accented dialect of Gallian.  
  
Louise stood there blinking for a moment in recognition and shock, wondering just what could have elicited such a reaction from the normally calm man, but she was broken out of her stupor by a loud crash followed by more loud cursing.  
  
Sighing, Louise followed in the wake of the professor.  
  
When she made it down to the entry hall, she witnessed the odd sight of Sycamore trying to push a young woman, her green hair styled into what appeared to be drills, out of the doorway.  
  
“But Augustine, you haven’t even heard my offer yet!” the young woman said.  
  
“I already said no,” Sycamore replied, before launching into a string of curses that would probably make Louise's father blanch, and in description of the green-haired woman, no less.  
  
Something that could generously be called a strangled croak escaped from Louise’s mouth as she processed what she just heard. Sycamore turned to her, his face going pale as he realized that the apparent pre-teen didn't just know ancient Kalosian, but had heard, and more importantly understood, exactly what he had called the verdette.  
  
That very verdette took the opportunity to unbalance the stunned professor and enter the lab. At this point, Louise was able to finally get a good look at the young woman. She appeared to be slightly older than Louise, no more than 17 in age. Her skin was a warm beige in color, darker than Louise's pale white but not like the reddish-bronze of Kirche back home. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of dark-lensed glasses framed with fine jewels, setting a pattern for the rest of her outfit. The woman's dress looked expensive, its white filigree interlacing with a deep navy blue. Her sunhat was the same color as her dress, with a few white flowers tucked inside the band. To Louise’s frustration, the woman was noticeably more…developed than she herself was, albeit, again, not to the same extreme as Kirche.  
  
“Augustine, I didn’t know you had an assistant, much less a child,” the woman said as she approached Louise, taking off her sunglasses to reveal her deep maroon eyes. Louise shook with indignation in response. How dare this woman call her a child!  
  
“That’s because I didn’t have one until earlier this week, and she’s not a child. Louise is-” Sycamore began as he picked himself off the floor, but Louise spoke up before he could voice his guess.  
  
"Sixteen," Louise stated in defiance.  
  
"Huh," the woman said upon hearing Louise’s actual age. She turned away from the professor and crouched slightly, bringing herself down to eye-level with the shorter girl. The verdette took a lock of Louise’s hair in her hand and ran it through her fingers a few times, then grabbed one of her own ringlets and did the same.  
  
“I don’t know how you manage it,” Elizabeth said with some fondness as she stood up, “but good on you for keeping your hair so clean and soft in a place like this.”  
  
Louise took a few steps back, unsettled by something she saw in Elizabeth’s maroon eyes. Her indignation quickly turned to discomfort.  
  
Sensing Louise's trouble, the professor spoke up once more. “Now if you’d mind leaving my lab, Miss Elizabeth?” So that was her name!  
  
“As I’ve said before,” Elizabeth said, moving over to Sycamore, “money is not an object for me. Name your price and I’ll meet or exceed it.”  
  
“And as I’ve said both times you’ve tried to purchase her: Fennekin. Is. Not. For. Sale,” Sycamore replied, pounding his fist in to his open palm for emphasis.  
  
“Every man has his price, Augustine,” Elizabeth said as she stopped directly in front of the professor, “Tell me, what is yours?”  
  
Sycamore stood his ground. “I don’t care who you or your parents are, I am NOT going back on my word!”  
  
“We’ll see about that,” she said, slipping by Sycamore’s fluttering lab coat, “We’ll see about that.”  
  
Elizabeth exited the lab, picking up her parasol and putting her dark glasses back on.  
  
“I’ll be back in a week to see if you’ve changed your mind,” she said in a parting comment, and then she was gone.  
  
Sycamore sighed, then turned to face Louise who promptly slapped him across the face.  
  
“How dare you disgrace my language with your foul words! You should be ashamed!” Louise scolded Sycamore, her finger accusingly pointing at Sycamore, who was busy rubbing his reddened cheek.  
  
“Man, you slap hard…You know, I probably deserved that. No one had ever caught that, befo-” Sycamore started before Louise slapped him again.  
  
“You’ve done this before!?”  
  
“Ow! Okay, yes, I have.”  
  
“Where’d you even learn Gallian?”  
  
“Gallian? That was… Ohhh, that explains it,” Sycamore nodded his head in understanding, before continuing. “I was speaking Old Kalosian, the ancient language of this region, Kalos, from long before Unovan became the most spoken language on Earth. I did not anticipate that Halkegenia’s Gallian was similar. What was the name of your world, again?”  
  
“Terre, and you are dodging the question. Why do you know Gallian, which is apparently identical to Old Kalosian?”  
  
“I learned it so I could curse out the parents of annoying children without them knowing.”  
  
The lab was silent as Louise and Sycamore stared at one another, Louise in shock at Sycamore’s base reason for learning an ancient language and Sycamore in anticipation of Louise slapping him again. To his relief, Louise merely closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself down, before continuing.  
  
“Okay, okay,” frustration was clearly audible in Louise’s voice, but to her credit she moved past it. “Moving on, what was that all about? Who is Elizabeth?”  
  
At this, Sycamore sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “That was Miss Elizabeth Colette, only daughter of the very wealthy Colette family. They are one of, if not the, richest people in Kalos. Miss Elizabeth is a Collector.”  
  
“And what is a Collector?” Louise inquired, a sinking feeling beginning to form in her stomach.  
  
“A Collector,” Sycamore answered, “is a person that collects Pokémon - the rarer, the better. Elizabeth has been trying to purchase that shiny Fennekin you met earlier.”  
  
“What is so special about Brennaraki? Why go to so much trouble for one Pokémon?” Disgust had formed in Louise at this point. By the sounds of things, this Elizabeth saw Pokémon not as living creatures, but as things, living trophies to be placed on a shelf. Not even Familiars were like that.  
  
“This was the question you were trying to ask before Elizabeth arrived, isn’t it?” Louise nodded, so Sycamore continued. “It’s for a variety of reasons. For starters, Fennekins are particularly rare. In fact, you are unlikely to find one in the wild.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“A Fennekin is what is called a Starter Pokémon, specifically Kalos’ Fire Starter. Starter Pokémon are officially recognized to be roughly equal in strength to one another. They evolve at the same time and their species’ base stats are equivalent, not to mention being easy to train. As such, they proved to be desirable as beginning trainers' first Pokémon, hence the term. There are three per region, one of Fire, one of Water, and one of Grass, forming a sort of elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors between them. Fire beats Grass, Grass beats Water, and Water beats Fire.”  
  
“Okay, that explains why Brennaraki is important, but not its rarity.”  
  
“Due to their desirability, Starter Pokémon are regulated by the Pokémon Leagues. Only authorized Breeders can sell them to registered handlers, of which I am one. As such, you can only get a Fennekin from people like me. But that isn’t the only reason. That Fennekin, Brennaraki as you’ve named it, is a girl.”  
  
“What does that have to do with anything?”  
  
“Starter Pokémon have one of the largest gender ratio differences in the Pokémon world. Only roughly one-in-eight of all Starter Pokémon are female, making Brennaraki even more desirable. Combined both of those with its status as a Shiny, and you already know how rare that is, makes that Fennekin highly desirable to collectors. I’ve been fighting them off for weeks,” Sycamore said, frustration beginning to leak into his voice.  
  
“Okay, so what is the problem? It seemed like these collectors are willing to pay, quite handsomely in fact. Why not accept their offer?”  
  
“Because that’s not what she wants!” Sycamore yelled out, causing Louise to step back in surprise. “Sorry. Brennaraki doesn’t want to go with a collector. These collectors would only see her as a trophy to hoard. At best, she would be pampered in a gilded cage when all she wants is to be a fighter. She wants to battle, not become a showpiece. She wants to prove her worth as a Fennekin. Every person who was walked through that door trying to get Brennaraki would not provide what she wanted, so I have refused every single offer.”  
  
Louise was silent at this point. After a few precious moments, she continued, “Then, what about the other Fennekins. They don’t want anything to do with her. Why?”  
  
“Two reasons. One, Brennaraki is the runt of the litter. Already, this placed it low on the totem pole, especially as it is weaker than its siblings. Two, with her around, none of the other Fennekin have been given to trainers, causing resentment. It could have gone with Elizabeth, or any other collector, but it would have been placed in a position its pride wouldn’t let it. It has refused every offer so far, as have I.”  
  
At this, Louise turned back to face Brennaraki who was now looking at them both through the garden entryway. Her heart burned with sympathy for the small creature, as Louise, before arriving in Lumiose, was put in the exact same position.  
  
“I… I know what that feels like. Had I failed my summoning, I would have met that fate and been married off to some noble. My life would have been comfortable, but I would have been a failure as a mage,” Louise whispered, which caused Brennaraki’s ears to perk up in surprise.  
  
“You would, wouldn’t you?” Sycamore asked to himself in contemplation, before shaking his head and moving on. "In any case, I have a project that needs to be done by morning. I hate to ask but could you help work on it through the night? It might be the only way for it to get done."  
  
"Of course, Professor." Louise inwardly groaned as she was faced with an all-night project. Considering everything Sycamore had done for her it was the least she could do to pay him back.

 [~][~]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone, and welcome to the third chapter of Outsiders! In case you are wondering, yes. Elizabeth Collette is Louise's rival in this story (she'll be very important to the story moving forward, to the point where you can consider her the tritagonist at times) and Brennaraki, the shiny Fennekin, will be her starter.
> 
> Now, you may be wondering why we had Brennaraki be a shiny Pokemon. For starters, know that we absolutely abhor the idea of just giving out shiny Pokemon for no real reason. It reeks of Mary Sue-dom. Same with constantly giving out Pokemon Eggs. Shiny Pokemon are incredibly rare, so when I say that Brennaraki will be the only shiny Pokemon in the story, I mean it. At the same time, however, when we created all of the Pokemon for use in the story, we wanted to tie them thematically to their trainer (yes, this means Louise will get a full team of six, each with their own unique personalities and quirks). Brennaraki, as Louise's starter, is supposed to thematically be the most similar to Louise. She's hotheated, prideful, and desperately wants to be something that others say she can't be. As a female shiny Fennekin, she's incredibly rare and thus valuable to collectors. They wanted her to be in their collection, nothing more, when Brennaraki wanted to be a battler. This ties into Louise's backstory as a 'failed' mage. As we know, every single spell she ever cast resulted in the same thing: an explosion. Obviously she could do magic, but to a medieval/early renaissance fantasy setting, that's not good enough. Her summoning was her last chance. Had she failed, she would have been kicked out of the Academy, despite her outstanding grades (her skill in magical theory was second to none, except for perhaps Tabitha), and her family would have married her off. Sure, they would have chosen a man that, presumably, would have made Louise 'happy' and at the very least comfortable, but to a prideful girl such as Louise it would have been little more than a gilded cage. Both Louise and Brennaraki could have shared similar fates had they not met each other, just because of how they were born. We felt that was a beautiful thing to do, so that's how we justified making Brennaraki a shiny Pokemon.
> 
> Please let us know what you think of the story. Hope you guys enjoy!


	4. Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Brennaraki face off against a would-be thief, and their journey together officially begins as Professor Sycamore asks them to deliver an object for him to a nearby town.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 4**

* * *

 

Louise sighed as she dutifully filled out the twelfth inventory form of the night. When Sycamore had asked her to help him with a project, she hadn’t expected it to involve cataloging everything they had in the lab's stores, but she would persevere through this tedium. After all, Sycamore was giving her room and board. Boredom and lost sleep were a relatively small price to pay.

Louise flipped to the next form on the clipboard the Professor had given her, only to find out that the pen she had been using had run dry.

Louise gave a defeated sigh and set the clipboard down on a nearby shelf before walking back to Sycamore’s office to grab another pen, making sure to discard the old one in a nearby trashcan. It landed with a loud clunk, and Louise glanced at the trashcan, curious as to why something so small would make such a loud noise.

“Eevee,” a familiar feminine voice hissed from the direction of the office, “try not to be so loud! Augustine may be a deep sleeper, but I don’t know enough about his new assistant to be sure that that didn’t wake her up.”

A cat-like growl was heard in response.

“Why do you hate me, Eevee?”

Louise crept toward the doorway during the two's interaction, only to decide to rush the last few feet, attempting to surprise the intruders. This caused Louise to crash into the intruder who, judging by the high-pitched squeal, appeared to be a woman. The two tumbled over each other before coming to a halt as a tangled heap of limbs.

“Get off me!” The intruder shouted. Louise in response grunted as she continued trying to untangle herself, all the while being able to take in the intruder’s features. To her surprise, the intruder was none other than Elizabeth Colette, the collector from earlier that day, albeit wearing much darker clothing topped with a black beanie.

Louise, being the one on top, managed to disentangle herself first and scramble into the office, grabbing the Pokéball the verdette had dropped in her tumble. She frowned as she realized what Elizabeth had planned to do, quickly got to her feet, and turned toward the verdette, who too stood up and was now brushing off her skirt.

“So, this is why you were here,” Louise said, backing up a few steps to put space between her and Elizabeth, “you wanted Brennaraki so bad that you'd—”

Whatever else Louise was going to say was cut off by Eevee letting out a yelp of pain as her tail was stepped on and then turned around and bit Louise’s leg in retaliation.

The pinkette tried to dislodge the critter, only to fall on her rear and drop the Pokéball, which opened upon hitting the ground and disgorged a rather confused Brennaraki.

“It figures that you’d only decide to help me after your own tail is literally put on the line,” Elizabeth remarks dryly, “Now, come on, let’s get the Fennekin back in her ball so we can get out of here.”

Upon hearing this, Louise gave Brennaraki a wide-eyed look, pleading her to do something with a questioning yip.

“Don’t just stand there, get this rodent off me!” Louise all but yelled.

Brennaraki shrugged, then rammed into Eevee, knocking her loose but tearing up the bite in Louise’s leg in the process. Pain erupted from Louise’s leg as she screamed in pain, forcing her to fall and clutch her leg to stem the bleeding. Brennaraki, in response, looked back in horror at Louise’s leg, eyeing the bright red blood spilling onto the floor. To the Eevee’s credit, she also appeared surprised and a little remorseful at the state of Louise’s leg, but not too much. After all, Louise had stepped on her tail.

“Why, you,” Elizabeth said incredulously, “Eevee!”

Eevee picked herself up off the ground and growled at Brennaraki, who responded in turn by blowing smoke out her ears and letting out a growl of her own.

“Burn the damn rat, Brennaraki!” Louise shouted.

“You dare call her a rat!?” Elizabeth called back indignantly.

Brennaraki launched a small fireball at Eevee, only for the latter to jump out of the way and onto Sycamore’s desk. Not wanting to let the Eevee get off that easy, Brennaraki did it again, only faster this time, releasing a chain of fireballs in rapid succession. Eevee dodged every one, but even Louise could tell that the Eevee was not trained particularly well. The constant dodging was tiring out the 'rat' far too quickly than it should have otherwise. After one fireball brushed closely enough to singe some of Eevee’s fur, Eevee hissed at the fox, and kicked up some dust to temporarily blind her. The distraction bought time for Eevee to leap at the fox in a flying tackle, with claws outstretched, catching Brennaraki off guard and knocking her to the ground. Picking herself back up, Brennaraki missed her opponent circling around for another tackle that could finish the fight. The Eevee neared Brennaraki and leapt at her again.

“Brennaraki, duck!” Louise commanded, seeing what Eevee was about to do. Brennaraki immediately followed the command and dropped down to her belly, sprawled across all four legs. Eevee’s eyes widened in surprise as she flew over Brennaraki’s prone form, completely missing her target.

Unprepared for the sudden lack of resistance, Eevee crashed to the ground gracelessly, leaving herself wide open for another salvo from Brennaraki, who eagerly took advantage of the opportunity. The fireball made a direct, critical hit, sending Eevee flying into one of Sycamore’s bookshelves. As Eevee attempted to pick herself up, the laden shelf toppled over, burying Eevee under an avalanche of books. Only Eevee’s head was visible, and, judging by the dazed look on her face, she was out for the count. Seeing that the immediate danger had passed, Brennaraki quickly rushed back to Louise and took a defensive posture in front of her, shielding her from any retaliation that Elizabeth may undertake.

“Argh! Eevee, return,” Elizabeth said, pulling out a Pokéball from her pocket and returning Eevee, “If it weren’t for you, I’d be home free by now!” Elizabeth, knowing her chance was blown, turned to escape, only to crash into the awaiting form of a particularly displeased Garchomp and professor.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Miss Elizabeth,” Professor Sycamore said, leaning in the doorway.

Elizabeth gulped as she took in her current predicament, flanked on one end by an angry Garchomp and Pokémon Professor and an equally angry Fennekin on the other, realizing just how bad of a decision she had made in attempting to break in.

“H-how long have you been standing there?” she asked.

“Long enough to hear Louise call your partner a rat,” Sycamore coldly replied. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in right now? I have half a mind to have Garchomp here restrain you as I call the police to have you arrested. Breaking and entering, attempted robbery, destruction of private property, assault with the intention of harm, may I go on!?” With each word, Sycamore grew more and more livid, while Elizabeth’s face grew ever paler. “I would have every right to do so! But, I’m not. But, I will be speaking to your parents. You are incredibly lucky that Louise was not seriously hurt by your actions tonight, otherwise we would not be having this conversation. Now, Garchomp here will escort you off my property and you will return the key you used to get in. You are no longer welcome here. Get out.”

“Y-yes, Professor, I’ll get g-going now,” Elizabeth stammered out, handing over the key to Sycamore’s open hand, before pushing past Sycamore and running down the hall to the exit, Garchomp quickly stomping after her.

“Glad that’s over with. What a mess…” Sycamore sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair as he watched Elizabeth’s form retreating from the premises her metaphorical tail between her legs. Once she was out of sight, he turned back to look at Louise, who was both clutching her leg and staring at him with wide eyes. Brennaraki had herself decided to curl up next to Louise, licking her leg to alleviate the pain Louise was feeling.

He smiled, then spoke back up again. “Now, let’s look at that leg.”

* * *

 

“Ah!” Louise hissed in slight pain as Sycamore again applied disinfecting alcohol to the bite on Louise’s leg. Brennaraki’s ears perked up at the sounds of pain coming from Louise, looking up in concern from Louise’s side. “Does it have to burn so much? And do you have to use that stuff?”

“Sorry, but yes to both. If I don’t use this, your leg could get infected. I think even you know how bad that is,” Sycamore lectured in a teasing tone before briefly looking up at Louise’s paling face to see her nod rapidly. “Good. Now, let’s see here…ooh, that Eevee got you good,” Sycamore observed, looking at the bite. It wasn’t that deep, but it would scar. Regardless, Sycamore began applying a tight bandage around Louise’s leg, which fully stopped the bleeding. “There, all better. Now, since it’s on your leg, it will probably hurt to put a lot of pressure and weight on it, so your movement will be impeded for a few hours. But, that should pass shortly,” Sycamore told Louise as he got up and walked to the closest sink, washing his hands of the dried blood.

“Thank you, Professor. And I’m sorry,” Louise thanked Sycamore before dejectedly looking down.

“For what?” At this, Sycamore turned to look at Louise in confusion. To his surprise, tears had become to accumulate on Louise’s eyes, which he guessed came from the adrenaline finally running off and the events that just transpired finally clicking in Louise’s mind.

“Brennaraki was almost stolen and it was all my fault!” Louise shouted before the tears started running down her face.

“Louise, Louise, it is fine. It was not your fault,” Sycamore comforted Louise in a soft tone, kneeling down to look at her in the eye.

“But it was! I was there, and if I had paid more attention than Elizabeth wouldn’t have gotten in and we wouldn’t have gotten into a fight and destroyed your office and-” Louise rambled before Sycamore interrupted her and placed his hand on her shoulder in a placating way.

“Louise, you did everything perfectly. You could not have known that Elizabeth would have been that desperate to get Brennaraki to even attempt at breaking in. And besides, you took command of the situation, didn’t you? You even commanded Brennaraki to victory, after only knowing about Pokémon for less than a week. That’s impressive if you ask me,” Sycamore smiled, which began to calm Louise down. She sniffled one last time, wiping away a tear from her face, before smiling back in turn.

“Thank you,” Louise replied in thanks, at which point Sycamore got and began putting away the first aid kit he had brought out to clean Louise’s leg. “I would not have expected such a small, cute creature to do this much damage.”

“That’s the thing, Louise. Pokémon, no matter how intelligent they are, are still highly dangerous if provoked. Even the small ones can pack quite a punch, judging by your leg over there.”

“But I saw you get bit by other Pokémon before and you never got something like this?”

“I’ve been wondering about that myself. I have some theories, but if I had to guess, I think you being from a different world had something to do with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you familiar with the concept of Natural Selection?”

“Yes, I think I read about that here. It’s…survival of the fittest, right?”

“Close, but not quite. That is a common misconception. Natural Selection is the process by which evolution, actual evolution, not the Rapid Metamorphosis most Pokémon go through during their lifespan, is the theory that the traits that most allow for an individual to survive get passed on through reproduction. On Earth, Pokémon have been around…practically forever, each capable of amazing feats of power. Our…my ancestors had to live in that time. So, the people who were able to better resist the attacks by Pokémon, whether it be fire, water, electricity, of any of the other types, lived to have children. Over time, we just became more resistant to that stuff. Your world, which by your accounts is still quite dangerous, did not have the same environmental factors we had. Therefore, your people did not develop the resistances we have, making you more vulnerable to Pokémon attacks.” At this, Louise looked up at Sycamore in understanding before slowly lifting herself off the seat she was currently in, grunting in slight pain as she put weight on her leg.

“That…makes sense, I suppose. But what I don’t get is, how did Elizabeth even get in?” Louise asked, hoping that Sycamore had an answer. Judging by how he froze up at that, she guessed she did.

“Oh, well, she stole the spare key. Yesterday,” Sycamore sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Louise’s eyes narrowed at this in suspicion, as did Brennaraki.

“Where was the spare key?”

“Uh, well, funny story there. You see, it was…in my lab coat pocket…”

“And when did you discover that it was missing?” Louise’s voice was beginning to rise in pitch at this point, as she suspected the incoming answer.

“…just after she left the lab.”

“So you’re telling me that not only did you know that Elizabeth would try something tonight, probably to steal Brennaraki, and you didn’t even warn me!?” Louise shrieked. Brennaraki barked at the Professor as well, clearly angry.

“I didn’t know for certain…”

“I got holes in my leg!”

“Okay, I know you’re upset, but…you passed the test!” Sycamore revealed, attempting to calm down the increasingly red-faced Louise and smoking Brennaraki.

“…What test?” Louise asked, beginning to calm down. Seeing a chance at a respite, Sycamore continued.

“You and Brennaraki were never in any danger. Garchomp and I were standing by before Elizabeth ever got inside the building. She would never have gotten out with that Pokéball,” Sycamore calmly told the pinkette and fox.

“Then why didn’t you stop her, when you easily could have?” Louise demanded, confusion written on her face.

“I wanted to see how you and Brennaraki would work with each other,” Sycamore revealed to Louise and Brennaraki’s astonishment. Seeing this, Sycamore continued. “In the few months I’ve had Brennaraki, she never got along with anyone other than myself. She didn’t approve of any potential trainer, especially as she could tell that they only wanted her as a trophy, like Ms. Colette. When you arrived, I wanted to see if you would be different. And you were. Louise, you and Brennaraki got closer in a matter of minutes, which is more than I can say about anyone else. I wanted to see if Brennaraki would listen to you, and it appears that I was right, although your commands could use a bit more work.”

“Wha-what are you saying?” Louise asked, voice trembling, with Brennaraki’s eyes beginning to widen in realization.

“I’m saying that, if both of you want, I can have Brennaraki be signed over to you as your Starter,” Sycamore finished, his arms outstretched and thrown slightly to the side. Louise’s breath caught itself at this as she looked at Sycamore in astonishment before slowly gazing down at Brennaraki’s expectant form, her tail wagging in jubilation.

“Do...Brennaraki, do you…?” Louise never got to finish her question, as Brennaraki yipped and leapt up into Louise’s arms. The answer was certain. At this, Louise began to cry again, only this time with tears of joy as she hugged the fire fox tightly. “Yes! Thank you, thank you!”

“It’s my pleasure, Louise. Now come on, let’s get to bed. We’ll set up your Trainer ID in the morning.”

* * *

 

“Now, a Trainer ID serves a wide array of purposes for a Pokémon Trainer. It serves as an identification card, noting your name, age, and other necessary information, and it also serves as a license to even be a Pokémon Trainer. For me to have Brennaraki registered to you, you must set it up. Don’t worry, the process is simple, and the software walks you through it. A 10-year-old could even do it,” Sycamore told Louise as he stood beside her. Louise herself was sitting in front some a strange box with a screen. Apparently, it one of these ‘computers’ Earth was so dependent on. She hadn’t used one of these before now, and as Sycamore turned it on, she gasped in amazement as the screen lit up. Sycamore briefly took control of the controller, apparently called a ‘mouse’, and moved the arrow on the screen to a Pokéball icon and clicked on it, causing a window to open. An image of an old man with white combed hair soon appeared in front of her, which to Louise’s amazement began to move and speak!

“ _Hello, and welcome to the world of Pokémon. My name is Professor Oak…”_ The man on screen started, at which point Louise turned to look at Sycamore.

“Who’s that?” Louise asked in slight confusion.

“That is Professor Samuel Oak,” Sycamore replied.

“Oh, him! The man who invented stats!”

“He’s also the single most respected Pokémon researcher in the world. A few years back, he made this program to help walk people through making their Trainer IDs after the Pokémon League asked him to. Just do what he tells you to and you’ll be done in about five minutes. I already have all the information you’ll need right here,” Sycamore told Louise, patting on a small stack of paper located on the desk before walking out of the room. “Holler if you need anything!”

As Sycamore closed the door behind him, Louise turned back to the screen. Professor Oak at this point had returned a feminine looking green and white Pokémon that he called a Gardevoir and was now starting to ask her questions.

“ _Now tell me, what is your name?”_

“Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière,” Louise slowly stated to herself as she typed in her name using the letters on the keyboard, only to growl in frustration as her name was too large to fully fit, not to mention not properly capitalized. After finding the backspace button and figuring out how to capitalize and accent the right characters, she simply shortened it to ‘Louise Vallière’ and pressed the next button to move on.

“ _Are you a boy, or a girl?”_ Louise’s eye twitched at this as she realized this was going to be _fun_.

After 10 minutes of tediously inputting data, a process that was made much more difficult due to being spoken to like she was a 10-year-old, Louise had finally finished uploading the right information and submitted the Trainer ID. Now, all she would have to do is wait a day or two for it to arrive by mail, and Brennaraki would be hers. Louise sighed in relief and leaned back in her chair before she decided to use the computer to computer to research something she was curious about. Sycamore had told her about the ‘internet’ and how it could be used to find information about whatever she wanted. After seeing the Gardevoir in the video, she was curious about it and decided to open the internet and type in the name.

“Let’s see…Gardevoir, powerful psychic…wow this is cool! Ooh, they even have images!”

* * *

 

Sycamore, after cleaning up the dried blood and burn marks as best he could, had begun to do the paperwork signing over Brennaraki to Louise when he heard a loud explosion come from the computer lab, causing him to jump out of his chair in surprise along with Brennaraki. Together, the two quickly threw open the door and raced down the hall, with Garchomp not far behind. When they reached the computer lab, they threw open the door to find a disheveled looking Louise holding her wand and standing over the smoking corpse of the computer she was using.

“What happened!?” Sycamore shouted in worry. At this, Louise looked up at him with crazed eyes before she began to speak.

“Your people…are SICK! HOW DARE YOU PEOPLE DEGRADE CREATURES LIKE THAT!”

“What are you talking about?! What did you see?!”

“I…looked up Gardevoir and clicked on images…” Louise quietly revealed and shuddered, to which Sycamore winced in sympathy, alongside Garchomp.

“Ohhh... Yeah, don’t do that.”

“Why…?”

“I don’t know. People are weird, I guess.”

“… Sorry for breaking your computer,” Louise sheepishly apologize, to which Sycamore shrugged.

“Don’t worry, its fine. Besides, I don’t have to pay for a new one,” Sycamore revealed.

“What do you mean? It’s totaled,” Louise asked in confusion, echoing the look Brennaraki shared.

“Well you see, after Ms. Elizabeth left last night, I had a _wonderful_ conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Colette. They were deeply sorry for their daughter’s actions and for what happened to your leg. In recompense, they made a generous ‘donation’ of 10,000,000 Pokédollars to the lab, with which we can use however we please,” Sycamore slyly revealed, information which caused Louise to wickedly smile.

“Did they now? That was nice of them,” Louise laughed.

“And thoughtful. Now, come along, there’s something I need to show you real quick before we do anything else.”

* * *

 

“What is that?” Louise asked as she closely examined a large clear crystal with a yellow and black spiral inside.

“That is a Mega Stone. Powerful stones capable of giving certain Pokémon vast amounts of power. I believe this to be specifically a Beedrillite, recently uncovered and shipped from the Hoenn region. This was given to me by Professor Birch, who knew I studied Mega Evolution, and figured it would aid me in my research,” Sycamore revealed, looking down at the aforementioned Beedrillite.

“Wow… Why did you want me to look at this? I mean, it’s pretty and all, but I don’t have a Beedrill. Nor do I plan on getting one,” Louise asked in confusion, looking up at Sycamore and wondering what the answer is.

“Well, now that you are an official Pokémon Trainer, with a Starter to back up that claim, I was hoping you would make a delivery for me.”

“A…delivery? Wait, you want me to deliver the Beedrillite to someone, don’t you?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Why can’t you? I mean, I’ve only had Brennaraki for less than a day. Wouldn’t you be much more suited for this than me?”

“My research here keeps me from doing the delivery myself, and I don’t trust anyone else to deliver something as important as this,” Sycamore told Louise in a matter-of-fact way, causing her to blush from the praise.

“I…I’m honored, Professor. Don’t you worry, I’ll get this delivered in no time at all!” Louise said excitedly, throwing her arm up into the air in exclamation, which Brennaraki, currently perched on her shoulder, mimed. The two turned to move, only to stop and sheepishly turned back to face Sycamore.

“Need to know where to take it?”

“…yes please.”

“Heh, I thought so. I need you to deliver this to a woman named Viola Pansy, over in Santalune City, on the other end of Parterre Way- err, Route 4. It’s only a few days’ journey by foot, so it shouldn’t take you that long to get over there. Don’t worry, we’ll use Elizabeth’s ‘donation’ to get whatever supplies you need.”

“Wait, you mean…?”

“Pokéballs, medicine, food, tents, anything that you might need. Come on, let’s get to the stores before we hit the rush.”

* * *

 

“You know, I am so happy we used Elizabeth’s money for this…” Sycamore groaned as he looked at the receipt after they finally concluded their shopping. He had expected Louise to go for the more affordable selections like most trainers starting out. Regular Pokéballs, Potions, and a wide selection of individual cures for various ailments. That is not what she did.

“I told you, as a noble I demand the best. The same goes for my Pokémon. Isn’t that right, Brennaraki?” Louise said with her head held high.

“Yip!” Brennaraki barked in agreement, eyes closed in content.

“Of course, how could I forget that…?” Sycamore sighed. Apparently to Louise, ‘the best’ automatically defaulted to ‘most expensive’, and that applied to everything they got. Most expensive tent in the store? She bought it. Most expensive travel shoes? Got that. Regular Pokéballs? Why get that when Luxury Balls are so much better. The rest of Louise’s purchases all followed that pattern, as she treated the expensive items as the default. She also bought a large amount of Full Restores, reasoning that they were the best medicine to get, and a lot of Ethers. She also decided to go ahead and buy every single TM that the store offered. She was lucky this was Elizabeth’s money, otherwise Sycamore would have stopped her. All in all, Louise ended up reducing the 10,000,000 down to 3,000,000 just by herself, leaving just enough to buy a high-end replacement computer. Sycamore’s soul would have cried. Louise’s on the other hand was ecstatic.

“Quit worrying! Besides, the store seemed to like us!”

“Can’t imagine why… Louise, in the future, you need to not immediately go to the most expensive stuff. More expensive does not necessarily mean better. That line of thinking will cause you to go broke. You’re lucky I let you splurge, next time you won’t be,” Sycamore warned Louise, body straining from carrying everything.

“Humph,” Louise dismissed, still confident in her choices. Soon enough, the duo finally made their way back to Sycamore’s lab. Once they entered, they quickly dropped off the supplies into the living room and began organizing everything. Ultimately, even Sycamore had to admit that Louise had a good eye for quality, as the supplies she bought were quite good. The backpack was great, with a wide array of pockets to allow for efficient storage of everything. As Louise began organizing her backpack, Sycamore left the room to grab one last thing from his office.

“Louise, I have one last thing for you. Come here,” Sycamore shouted out from his office, causing Louise to stop what she was doing and make her way over. Inside, Sycamore was holding a clear red and blue slab that appeared to be displaying information.

“What is that?” Louise asked in confusion.

“This is called a Pokédex. It is an all-encompassing encyclopedia on everything about a Pokémon. It can display their currently known moves, what moves they can learn, and their stats, along with basic information about a species. These are only given out by a region’s professor, and now I am giving one to you,” Sycamore revealed, carefully handing the device over to Louise who grabbed it with reverence.

“Wow, I…I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Professor,” Louise gasped out as she held the Pokédex in her hands.

“You don’t have to say anything, Louise. This is a gift. Where you are going, I’m pretty sure you’ll need it. Come on, let’s finish packing up your bag.” At this, the two of them got and returned to their previous task, all the while making small talk and knowing that the end was coming near.

* * *

 

The next morning, the two of them walked to the Lumiose gatehouse to Route 4, with Louise wearing her travel gear. On her back was a blue and red hiking backpack, which held her sleeping bag, tent, and various other supplies in the appropriately marked pockets. Gone were her academy heels; in their place were a pair of brown hiking boots. A thin, red-silk hairband was wrapped around from the top of Louise’s head to its base. The rest of her academy uniform was in place, although she now wore black leggings that went all the way down, along with a pair of black, fingerless trainer gloves.

“Well, this is it. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. The Pokédex also functions as a phone, so if you need to you can call me. And besides, you have Brennaraki! You two will keep each other safe. I know it,” Sycamore gently comforted Louise as she stood at the threshold to the well-kept road. Louise took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. In truth, she was scared. Ever since she had arrived at this world, Professor Sycamore had always been there for her, been at her side. And now, she was leaving him to go off into the unknown, all alone. Hearing a small yip coming below her, Louise looked down and saw Brennaraki smiling up at her in excitement, causing Louise to smile as well. She wasn’t alone, not anymore. As she began walking down the route, she stopped as she realized she had one last thing she had to do. She quickly turned around and ran back to Sycamore and give him a hug, briefly surprising him before he smiled and returned the embrace.

“Thank you. For everything,” Louise said with gratitude filling every word. Brennaraki held back, not wanting to ruin the moment, as Sycamore smiled and let go.

“No thanks is needed, Louise. Now go, that mega stone isn't going to deliver itself,” Sycamore laughed. At this, Louise smiled and ran back to Brennaraki. As the two began walking towards their next destination, a feeling formed up from inside Louise. She did not know what this journey would entail or whether it would end with just the delivery or go beyond it. But she did know this: these were the first real steps to proving her worth - to Arceus, to her classmates, and to herself. And she couldn’t be happier.

[~][~]


	5. Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Brennaraki embark on the first legs of their journey to Santalune, intending to deliver the Beedrillite to a woman named Viola, only to find that life on the road is not as simply as initially believed.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 1**

* * *

When Louise and Brennaraki had set off earlier at dawn, going south on Route 4, she, and by extension Professor Sycamore, had expected it go smoothly. After all, Route 4, otherwise known as Parterre Way, is widely considered to be a beginner’s route. Many families even have picnics on the Route, which Louise saw personally as she passed by several during her now seven-hour trek. However, things were not going to plan. Gone was happy and exhilarated Louise from the start of her journey. In her place, was something else entirely different.  
  
“Why… in the founder’s name… did I refuse… transportation?!” Louise wheezed out as she trekked along, with a defeated Brennaraki having retreated into her Luxury Ball and adjusted her backpack for the tenth time in the past half hour alone. “Oh yeah…I remember! ‘Oh, you don’t have to get a ride for me, Professor! You’ve done enough already! I can do this myself! Besides, it’ll be fun!’ Founder, I’m an idiot! This isn’t fun at all! My feet hurt like hell, this stupid backpack is way too heavy with all the stupid stuff I bought!” As Louise continued to rant, she paused for a moment to wipe away the heavy sweat that flooded her head and swipe away a small cloud of mosquitoes hovering around her.  
  
If one were to look at Louise, they would assume she was miserable, and they would be correct. As it turns out, Louise and Brennaraki were not in as good of shape as either them nor Sycamore assumed. Now, to be fair, Louise was in better shape than most of her classmates. Lack of proper magic control forces someone to walk and carry a lot, rather than levitate. But Louise had never traveled this far before on foot, especially while burdened with a heavy backpack, and Brennaraki had never gone outside the lab. Indeed, much of the problem laid with the backpack itself, and its contents, something Louise was very much cognizant of.  
  
“’Oh, Louise. I think you got too much. You don’t need that many supplies for a two-day hike.’ ‘It’ll be fine, Professor! You worry too much! Better safe than sorry, am I right?’ Yeah, right! More like buy enough to break my back!” Louise raged in frustration, all the while extremely grateful that she was alone with her thoughts. “Stupid Poké-Mart Supercenter…” At this point, Louise’s rage began to cool, with the day’s exhaustion roaring back into its rightful place.  
  
“Forget… this. I got…to take a break…” Louise wheezed as she dragged herself to a nearby tree, sitting down and leaning against it. As she sat down, she removed the large backpack, placing it on the ground next to her, reliving her body of the extra weight. At the same time, she removed her hiking boots, freeing herself from its tight space.  
  
“Ahh, that’s better…” Louise breathed out as she rubbed her feet. Before long, Louise began to drift off, until sleep descended upon her, not stopping to wonder where the mosquitoes had gone.

* * *

When Louise opened her eyes again, the sun still shone brightly overhead but was noticeably further down. She would only have a few more hours of daylight left before she would have to make camp for the night. With that in mind, Louise reluctantly began to try and move back up, only for a weight to keep her down, not to mention her right arm was still asleep and refused to budge. She looked down to see the still sleeping form of Brennaraki curled up on Louise, using her legs as a bed. Apparently, Brennaraki had gotten out of her Luxury Ball and had decided that Louise’s lap made a suitable bed. The fire fox was snoring and judging by the smile on its face was having a wonderful dream.  
  
Louise smiled at the adorable scene before a thought came to her head. She had never actually scanned Brennaraki with the Pokédex. Plus, Sycamore had told her it had a wide variety of functions that she didn’t know how to use, and now was as good a time as any. Carefully, Louise maneuvered the backpack around for her to manipulate and reach inside. While searching for the Pokédex, she was quickly reminded of her last shopping experience, but she put the grumbling feelings aside, along with the useless stuff she had bought until she felt the shape of the Pokédex and grabbed it. The Pokédex itself was small, square in shape and pink in color. But, when Louise turned it on, the square expanded into a vertical rectangle, with clear glass forming the expansion. The glass did not stay clear for long, as it quickly turned light blue, lighting up and filling with colorful icons. As Sycamore described it, each icon represented a different application or function of the Pokédex, something Louise remembered as she tapped the first icon, one that looked like a map. The screen then shifted and displayed a map of Kalos, with each route clearly displayed and named. Breathing in amazement, Louise pressed her finger on Route 4, whereupon the map zoomed in and displayed Route 4 in full, with a red ‘X’ showing her position. Sycamore had apparently already used this app and had set her destination to Santalune Forest, and even when off had done an approximate time for her arrival. Louise had to bite back a curse at this, as according to the map she was only a quarter of the way through and, based off her current speed, would take two days to get to Santalune, and that was without stopping. Louise groaned at this, realizing that it would likely be four more days of walking in hellish conditions, for her anyway.  
  
Sighing, Louise exited the map and pressed the next icon, a rectangle with a circle on the top middle, where the screen then shifted to display Louise’s surprised face, along with a wide array of other icons. Louise gasped in surprise, only to accidentally press a circle icon, causing a snapping effect. Once it was done, a still image of Louise’s surprised face filled the screen, with a ‘Keep? Yes or No’ buttons appearing on the top of the screen. Louise then realized what this function apparently was. Apparently, if she had to guess, this was the camera application, which according to Sycamore could take both photographs and videos. Louise, not wanting to keep that photo, quickly pressed no and prepared to exit the camera when the sight of a still sleeping Brennaraki gave her an idea. Louise then proceeded to find and press the flip button, replacing the sight of her face with that Brennaraki. Louise, after shifting the Pokédex to the right angle, took the picture and, proud of her first real photograph taken, pressed the ‘Yes’ button and saved the image before finally leaving the camera application.  
  
Deciding not to waste any more time, Louise looked around for the actual Pokédex application icon, skipping over most of the other icons, before settling on a familiar Pokéball icon. Assuming it was the correct icon, Louise pressed it, which proved her assumption to be correct as the Pokédex opened. Angling the Pokédex towards Brennaraki, Louise activated the Scan function. To her surprise, a female sounding voice came out of the Pokédex, shocking Louise and waking up Brennaraki, none too pleased to be woken up from her rest. “Sorry…” Louise whispered out, before focusing on what the voice was saying.  
  
“ _Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon. Its large ears serve as air vents, expelling hot air that can reach up to 200 degrees Celsius,_ ” The Pokédex informed Louise and Brennaraki, looking smug at the information. Seeing as how the Pokédex was no longer speaking, Louise decided to continue to the next section, which displayed her acquired Pokémon. As she only had Brennaraki, only her image appeared, with five more open slots available. According to Sycamore, a Trainer could apparently catch as many Pokémon as a trainer so desires, but a team can only be at most six. Moving this to the back of her mind, Louise clicked on Brennaraki’s image, which shifted the screen to display more detailed information regarding Louise’s Pokémon. Apparently, according to Sycamore, Pokéballs can conduct a more detailed scan of captured Pokémon, transmitting data to Pokédexes to tell trainers the moves, abilities, and stats of caught Pokémon.  
  
“Okay, let’s see here…” Louise stated aloud. “Brennaraki, you know the moves…Ember, I’m assuming that was the fireball you made earlier?” Louise asked Brennaraki, who nodded in affirmation, at which point Louise moved on. “And you also know…Magic Coat, which can reflect status moves back onto the attacker. Yeah, I could see how that could be usef-” Louise started before a light clicking noise sounded, to which Brennaraki tensed up, hairs standing on end and steam erupting from her ears. At this point, Louise realized that her arm was suddenly a little heavier than normal and was now emitting a strange clicking sound. Slowly, Louise turned her head to look at the source of the sound and weight, only to see a large green spider looking right into her eyes.  
  
“AHH!” Louise shrieked as she jumped to her feet, causing the spider to jump onto the tree and accidentally sending a yipping Brennaraki flying forward. In a panic, Louise began to run, before an upturned root caused her to trip, ripping her leggings in the process. Louise quickly turned over to her back and began to crawl backward, her eyes never leaving the large spider, who continued to look at her in what appeared to be confusion, until an orange blur soared passed her as Brennaraki charged at the spider. Using teeth and claws, the fire fox engaged the spider, the two tumbling over each other.  
  
“Brennaraki, attack!” Louise ordered, only to receive a look that screamed ‘ _With what?_ ’ as it continued to bite and claw at the spider, causing Louise to scramble for an answer. “Uhh, just kick the spider off and bite it!”  
  
At this, Brennaraki kicked the spider off her body and rolled back onto her feet, before quickly launching into a flying leap at the spider, who used a web sling to dodge the incoming fangs. Thinking quickly, Louise pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the spider, all the while Brennaraki continued the assault.  
  
“ _Spinarak, the String Spit Pokémon. Spinaraks can patiently wait days for prey to come within reach of its webs,_ ” the Pokédex revealed as it displayed Spinarak’s species information, revealing it to be a Bug and Poison type.  
  
“Brennaraki, it’s weak to fire! Start using Ember but watch out for those webs!” Louise ordered, watching the scene with baited breath. Brennaraki began to fire salvo after salvo of fireballs at the Spinarak, who by now was firing off attacks of its own, a mixture of web strings and poison darts. Unlike the Eevee, Brennaraki was much more skilled at dodging, bobbing and weaving in between the Spinarak’s moves and firing off a fireball in-between each one. In turn, the Spinarak continued to swing around the tree to swing past the oncoming fireballs, only pausing to shoot out those darts. Those darts, however, went wide every time, both due to poor accuracy of the Spinarak and Brennaraki’s skilled dodging, while her fireballs frequently came close to hitting her target. Eventually, a direct hit was scored on the Spinarak, who tumbled to the ground in a heap. Unfortunately, just as Louise and Brennaraki thought they had the fight in the bag, three strings of webbing shot out from the tree, hitting her square on, quickly encasing her in a cocoon of webbing.  
  
“Brennaraki!” Louise shouted in alarm, rushing over to her fallen friend while the Spinarak quickly scuttled back up the tree. Louise quickly began to tear apart the webbing freeing her friend before a thought entered her mind. “Why didn’t I grab my wand?!” Louise slapped herself before resuming in removing the web's.  
  
After a few minutes of web tearing, Brennaraki was finally free of the cocoon and began heating up her body to burn off the small web strands still on her body, while Louise angrily up at the tree, her stare returned by four pairs of wary eyes. Before the tense standoff could turn into another confrontation, the eyes disappeared, leaving Louise and Brennaraki alone once again. With the danger passed, Louise allowed herself to release the breath she had been holding in.  
  
“Okay, that was…not very good. On both of us,” Louise admitted, only receiving a glare in response, making her pause in embarrassment before continuing on. “I…think we should practice a bit. Your attacks, me giving commands, the whole thing. That should not have happened. That…Spinarak was a Bug-type, an insect. Your Fire should have made this easy, but that did not happen. I should not have panicked like that, which threw us completely off guard. It kept dodging all our attacks, and when it saw an opening, it took it. I say we should work on those issues before we move on, alright?” Louise asked Brennaraki, who nodded in agreement. “Okay, let’s get to work.”

* * *

Although she would begrudgingly admit that she _may_ have gone a little overboard while at the Poké-Mart Supercenter, in this case, she was happy with what she purchased. A set of practice targets had caught her eye while at the store and she decided that they would be good in case Louise needed them. As it turned out, that was a smart move. Using the targets, Louise created a makeshift target range, attaching the targets to various trees or makeshift stands that she made using sticks and duct tape. Several hours later, the seeds of Louise and Brennaraki’s labors were beginning to bear fruit.  
  
“Ember! Top left!” Louise ordered to Brennaraki, who fired a single shot at the target in question. “Bottom right!” Again, a single shot rang out.  
  
Louise and Brennaraki had been doing this and only this for the past few hours. Louise would call out a target and move to use, and Brennaraki would follow the command. This practice served two purposes: One, it allowed Louise to get better at issuing commands. Two, it allowed Brennaraki to practice her aim. It wouldn’t just be against single, non-moving targets. They would switch it up every so often, with Louise sometimes ordering Brennaraki to attack multiple targets in rapid succession and even throwing a few targets into the air to create a moving target.  
  
It wasn’t without its problems, however. During the process of setting up the range, the rip in Louise’s leggings, formed during the Spinarak encounter, spread due to the stress of moving, and eventually split the entire garment in half. To preserve her dignity, Louise had to change into a pair of blue jeans she had bought at the Poké-Mart. Overall, however, Louise would say this was a successful use of her time.  
  
“Now, hit all of them!” Louise yelled out, throwing five targets into the air, watching as five fireballs shot out towards their target. Four made their mark, with the fifth unfortunately going wide.  
  
“Whew!” Louise sighed wiping away the sweat from her brow. But, as Louise looked around, she noticed the sun begin to dip below the horizon. Apparently, she lost track of time while setting up the range. Realizing that it was late enough for her to justify setting up camp for the night, Louise called out to her starter. “Brennaraki! We’re going to have to call it a night. Help me set up camp.”  
  
Brennaraki yipped in response as she trotted over, pride evident in the way she carried herself over her practice performance.  
  
“Okay, first thing is the…tent! Where is…” Louise asked herself as she reached around for the tent capsule. The tent that Louise had bought was the single most expensive item she bought but based off its boasted features was apparently well worth the price. It was rated for sub-zero temperatures, could hold multiple people comfortably inside. It even came in a collapsible container which squeezed the tent into a more manageable size. Louise would have been more impressed with that feature had the small size not made it so hard to find.  
  
“Where…are…you…” Louise grumbled as she pulled out various items in her search. Pots and pans, silverware, glass jars, spare clothes, Louise pulled all of these out and more in her search before finally grasping the cylindered container of her tent.  
  
“Found it!” Louise shouted out in victory as she held aloft the correct item capsule. Smiling, she activated the ball and threw it towards an open part of the clearing she and Brennaraki had practiced in, releasing the tent. At which point, another issue made itself apparent.  
  
“…how do I set this up?” Louise wondered aloud as she gazed at the clumped mess that was the tent, turning to look at Brennaraki in vain hope, only to receive a shrug in response.  
  
“Okay, this shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out. I mean, how hard can it be?” Louise asked herself as she moved towards the tent. Thirty minutes later, with the moon beginning to rise above, she had her answer. “This is impossible!” Louise yelled out in frustration, throwing the tent poles onto the ground in frustration. Setting up the tent proved itself to be much more confusing than Louise had anticipated and as such was completely unable to successfully set up the tent without damaging it.  
  
“Well, that was a complete waste of time,” Sighing in defeat, Louise stuffed the tent materials back inside the container and placed it back inside her backpack. At the same time, she pulled out her sleeping bag. Like her tent, it two was rated for sub-zero temperatures and thus was very expensive. “At least this is simple enough…” Louise grumbled to herself as she rolled out the sleeping bag, only to stop when a gust of the night wind caused her to stop and shiver.  
  
“Okay, got to make a fire,” Louise shivered. She had already gathered some wood earlier that day while setting up the makeshift target range. Throwing the scraps of wood into a hastily made hole in the ground, surrounded by small rocks, an idea formed in her head.  
  
“Brennaraki, can you come over here, please?” Louise asked her starter, who was resting on a fallen log. Perking up at the summons, Brennaraki walked over to Louise and sat down, awaiting further instruction.  
  
“Can you light this for me with an Ember?” Louise asked the fire fox, who nodded in affirmation. At this, Louise smiled and stepped back in anticipation. Brennaraki then launched a fireball at the small pile of wood, causing it to come to a sputtering life. “Alright, good job Brennaraki!” Louise congratulated the Fennekin on a job well done, Brennaraki beaming at the praise.  
  
With the fire going, Louise and Brennaraki began to huddle around it, basking in its warmth, before the sound of rumbling stomachs caught both of their attention. Knowing what to do, Louise pulled out a pan, a grill pan, and some food, placing them all on the fire. Staring into the slow cooking meal, and patience wearing thin after a long day, an idea formed in Louise’s head.  
  
“Hey, do you think you can heat this up, too?” Louise asked Brennaraki, receiving an eager yip in response. Taking the pan out of the fire and holding it above Brennaraki, Louise readied herself to eat a hot meal as Brennaraki fired a fireball, only to find herself shocked and disappointed when the food was burnt charcoal black. “Well, that’s…disappointing,” Louise said to herself, causing Brennaraki to look down in shame.  
  
“Oh, it’s okay, Brennaraki! We just…need to work on your control next time, that’s all,” Louise attempted to comfort her starter, feeling bad for her poor choice of words. Seeing how it wasn’t working, Louise reached back into her backpack and pulled out some meal bars, one for her and one for Brennaraki. “Here, see? We’ll be fine.”  
  
At the sight of food, no matter how unappetizing it may taste, Brennaraki tore into the meal bar. At his point, Louise had changed into her pink Pokéball styled pajamas and had migrated into her sleeping bag, wrapping herself up in its covers like a cocoon. As the fire died began to die down, Louise tried to drift off to sleep, only to find that, without the exhaustion from earlier, the ground was too hard for her to sleep. The sounds of the forest, teeming with nocturnal Pokémon and insects, also kept Louise awake, fearful of what the night may bring, only to feel a warm sensation from inside her sleeping bag. Looking down, Louise saw Brennaraki had squeezed her way inside of Louise’s sleeping bag and had proceeded to curl up on her. Sighing in comfort, Louise wrapped her arms around Brennaraki and gazed upwards into the star-filled sky. She began to count the stars and searched constellations until sleep finally overcame her.

[~][~]


	6. Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise continues on her quest to Santalune, only to come across a flock of Fletchlings and a swarm of Combees.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 2**

* * *

The next morning, her back sore after sleeping on the rough forest floor and after eating breakfast, Louise began the day’s walking. To her relief, the trek was becoming slightly easier for her to handle, probably due to her having more realistic expectations now. As she continued along the path, Brennaraki walking alongside her, a loud chirp caught her attention. Looking around for the source of the chirp, Louise saw a small bird cleaning itself on a branch. It looked like a small bird, only orange and grey in color, with black and white tail feathers. Recognizing that this was a Pokémon, Louise pulled out her Pokédex and activated the Scan function.  
  
“ _Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. Fletchlings are known for their gentle demeanor and communicate via song._ ” The Pokédex automated voice rang out. True enough, the Fletchling began to sing, giving the air the sweet chorus of its song.  
  
“Wow…” Louise whispered in awe as she silently looked at the singing bird. She could have sworn that she saw the Fletchling perk up at that, but there was no way it heard her. Soon enough, more songs filled the air as other Fletchlings made their presence known. The songs combined into an orchestra, filling the air with a plethora of songs, each unique yet harmoniously merging.  
  
“It’s…beautiful…” Louise marveled at what she was hearing and judging by the silence of Brennaraki she too felt the scene was a wondrous sight to behold. Not wanting to further intrude, Louise and Brennaraki silently continued, allowing the songs of the Fletchlings to grow fainter and fainter as they walked away.

* * *

As the day dragged on, Louise eventually was forced to come to a rest as the day’s trek finally caught up with her. Knowing that there was likely not going to be any more walking today, and with the day beginning to turn into twilight, Louise and Brennaraki began setting up camp. As Louise pulled out the tent container, she emptied its contents, only to reveal the tent in a tangled heap. Glaring at the tangled mess in front of her, Louise debated whether or not it would be worth untangling the mess and attempting to set it up again only to sigh in defeat and began the process of returning the tent to its container, deciding it was not worth the time nor hassle.  
  
“Looks like I’m sleeping in a bag again…” Louise grumbled, before a buzzing noise became faintly heard as a creature entered the clearing. It looked like a flying honeycomb with faces, with three yellow hexagons, each with its own face, and a pair of wings on its sides. Remembering the last encounter with a Bug-type Pokémon, Louise and Brennaraki tensed for a confrontation, only to be surprised as the bug flew around them to some nearby flowers. Based on the loud sucking noise coming from the bees, they appeared to be sucking in nectar. As it continued to absorb nectar, Louise once again pulled out her Pokédex to see what this Pokémon was.  
  
“ _Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokémon. Combee’s take nectar from flowers and are able to quickly turn it into honey.”_ The Pokédex spouted out as Louise continued to watch the Combee, now being joined by a few more. One Combee, the only one with a red patch on its center face instead of blue, came up to a flower near Louise’s feet and eyed her inquisitively.  
  
“Oh, you want this?” Louise, after a moment’s hesitation, asked the diminutive creature. Seeing the smiling faces nod and happily buzz, Louise, realizing that the Combee meant her no harm, moved to sit down on a nearby rock, giving the Combee access to the sought-after flower. The Combee smiled, moving towards the flower, while Louise continued to watch with a peaceful smile on her face.  
  
“Chirp!” A soft cry rang out across the clearing, making the Combee halt in their tracks while Louise began looking for the familiar cry’s source. After a few moments, she found it, a Fletchling perched on a tree branch overlooking the clearing.  
  
“Is that…the same Fletchling from before?” Louise asked herself, confused and eyeing the small robin while Brennaraki tilted her head in confusion. That confusion widened when another Fletchling made itself known. Then another, and another, until finally the clearing was surrounded by roughly twelve Fletchlings. At that point, Louise and Brennaraki’s confusion turned into apprehension. The blue Combees had already formed a protective circle around the red Combee, the once smiling faces frowning.  
  
“Chirp! Chirp!” The Fletchlings cried out to each other as they took to the sky, circling around the clearing overhead, their eyes never leaving the Combees.  
  
“Oh no…” Louise whispered in silent horror, realization dawning as to the bird’s intentions. “They’re hunting.” As the words left Louise’s mouth, a sharp cry rang out from the flock, and the Fletchlings began to dive bomb.  
  
“AAGH!” Louise screamed, dropping down to her knees and began to crawl as the Fletchlings dived down, attacking the Combees. Any birds that got too close to Louise’s retreating form quickly got scared off via Brennaraki firing off warning shots.  
  
Once Louise got far enough away, she jumped to her feet and began to run, only to stop as she heard the fearful buzzing of the Combees. She turned around and gazed at the Combees and Fletchlings. Although the number of Fletchlings had dropped, to about ten, the Combees were in a much worse position. The vast majority were knocked out, some with more serious wounds than others. There were only three left, the red Combee and two blue Combees acting as bodyguards, warding off any Fletchlings that got too close. Noticing Louise’s presence, the red Combee turned around to look at her and Brennaraki with desperation, pleading for help, just as another Fletchling dive-bombed the distracted Combee. As the Fletchling neared, Louise came to a decision.  
  
“Ember!” Louise shouted to Brennaraki, who fired a volley of fireballs at the dive-bombing bird, with most hitting their mark. Caught off guard and hurt from the unexpected attack, the Fletchling was momentarily grounded before quickly darting back into the air where they proceeded to circle along with the rest of the Fletchlings that had turned their attention away from the Combees to her. Before any of them could do anything, a large swarm of Combees rushed out of the forest, drawing their attention away from Louise and towards the incoming bugs. All broke away and attacked the swarm, except for the Fletchling who Louise attacked, who landed back on the ground, staring at Louise.  
  
“Chirp!” The Fletchling called out, almost as if issuing a challenge. She narrowed her eyes and readied herself, as Brennaraki crouched down in anticipation. A silent pause broke out between the two, the sounds of Avian-Insect battle becoming faint in the background before the Fletchling cried out and took to the sky. As it rose, it began flapping its wings, causing a shift in the winds that coalesced behind the bird, and as it continued to fly Louise noticed a significant jump in its speed from before.  
  
“Brennaraki! It’s making itself faster!” Louise warned Brennaraki as the Fletchling dived down at Brennaraki like a missile. She dived to the right to dodge the bird as it swooped towards her, barely managing to avoid its beak.  
  
“Keep using Ember! Dodge after each shot!” Louise yelled out, which Brennaraki dutifully obeyed.  
  
The battle went on back and forth. For the most part, Brennaraki’s skill in dodging allowed her to skillfully avoid damage, while the Fletchling’s Tailwind allowed it to speed past the fireballs. However, as the winds calmed, the Fletchling slowed down, giving Brennaraki an opening to fire an Ember at the slowed bird, scoring a direct hit. Once again, the Fletchling crashed down, but before it could it could pick itself back up Brennaraki tackled it, pining it to the ground. As the bird struggled to remove the much larger fox, the Fletchling slowly ceased its efforts until stopping its struggle. It had lost.  
  
“Yes!” Louise cheered out, before noticing Brennaraki giving her an expectant look.  
  
“What?” She asked, confused as to what Brennaraki wanted her to do before realization dawned on her. Louise reached into her pocket and pulled out a collapsed Luxury Ball, priming and expanding it to full size.  
  
“Welcome to the team, Fletchling,” Louise stated, throwing the Luxury Ball towards the downed bird to capture it. Unfortunately, that did not happen, as the ball flew past the downed bird and hit a rock, bouncing back to beam Louise in the nose.  
  
“Ow!” Louise held her nose, more irritated than in pain, glaring at the laughing Brennaraki. “Yes, ha-ha. Very funny.” Louise grumbled before trying again, throwing the ball at the Fletchling. Again, she missed, as the ball hit the ground next to the Fletchling, who at this point was sporting an incredulous and annoyed expression on its face.  
  
“Gagh!” Louise grunted, catching the ball with both hands as it bounced back to her. “Okay, this time…” Louise whispered to herself as she threw the ball again. Finally, she hit her mark as the Luxury Ball contacted the Fletchling, opening it and sucking the pleased looking Fletchling inside, with a small red light appearing on the ball.  
  
“Come on. Work…” With baited breath, Louise and Brennaraki looked at the rocking Luxury Ball, hoping for a successful capture. After a few seconds, the ball stopped rocking and clicked shut, the red light disappearing. Tentatively, Louise walked to the ball, grasping it with both hands as she contemplated her actions.  
  
“I caught a Pokémon!” Louise cheered, with her and Brennaraki jumping into the air in joy, only for her to finally take note of her surroundings once again upon noticing a distinct lack of battle going on around her.  
  
Based on the distinct lack of Fletchlings, it appeared that the Combee Swarm had driven off the Fletchling Flock, and now the Swarm had surrounded her, neutral expressions on their faces. Sweat beginning to drip down, Louise took a step back before the space behind her was closed off, leaving her completely cut off from any escape routes.  
  
“Uhh…hello?” Louise shakily greeted the swarm in a placating tone, to which the only response she received was blank stares. “Okay…I mean you all no harm. I was here before… all of this so if you can just let me go I’ll-” Louise started before the swarm suddenly parted in front of her, leaving only one Combee in front of her. She recognized this Combee, as it had the red marking on its face. Unlike the others, it floated towards her, stopping in front of her face and smiled, before turning around and floating towards the forest. After going a few feet, the Combee stopped and turned around, motioning for Louise to follow it.  
  
“Oh. OH, you want me to follow you?” Louise asked the bee, to which it nodded in reply. Looking at Brennaraki for guidance, the answer she received was a smile and began to walk after the Combee. Deciding to follow her starter’s lead, Louise began walking after the fox, with the rest of the Combees following her, keeping a close eye at all times.  
  
For several minutes, Louise and Brennaraki followed the Combee through the forest. Thankfully, the Combee had given Louise a chance to scan the freshly caught Fletchling. According to the scan, that the Fletchling was female and knew the moves Tailwind and Peck, with its Ability being Gale Wings. As they continued their trek through the woods, Louise began thinking of names for the small bird.  
  
More Combee had joined them at this point, filling the forest air with their buzzing, before entering another clearing, one with a large oak tree in the center. That was not the main point of interest for Louise, though. That distinction belonged to the largest beehive she had ever seen. It was massive, taking up nearly half the tree itself to the point where it looked less like a hive and more an extension of the tree. A large gap was at its base and the red Combee stopped at it and smiled at Louise. Before Louise could inquire as to what was going on, a large and majestic creature emerged from inside the hive. It looked like a regal, humanoid bee, with a crown atop its head and a beehive dress. Two pairs of wings fluttered from its back, keeping it aloft. As it flew towards Louise, she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the creature.  
  
“ _Vespiqueen, the Beehive Pokémon. Vespiqueens only evolve from female Combees and their dress serves as a hatchery for baby Combee,_ ” the Pokédex stated aloud. With this new information, Louise finally realized what the importance of the red Combee was.  
  
“I get it now. You’re a female, the next Queen,” Louise stated, with the red Combee nodding. The Vespiqueen, now in front of Louise, floated in place, the ruby red compound eyes staring into her soul, before motioning for some Combees to reach into her backpack.  
  
“Hey! What are you-!” Louise yelled out in surprise. Before she could do anything, the Combees stopped what they were doing and pulled out several empty glass jars that Louise had stored in her backpack, giving them to the Vespiqueen. The Vespiqueen buzzed and ordered the other Combees to swarm them, which they did. Louise could not see what they were doing, but after a few minutes, the swarm cleared the jars and revealed their contents. No longer where they empty, but instead they were filled with rich, golden Honey. The Combees carefully lifted them and placed the jars back inside Louise’s bag where they got them out from, as Louise stared at the Vespiqueen.  
  
“I…I can’t…thank you,” Louise whispered in appreciation to the Vespiqueen, who nodded in approval before flying back inside the hive. The other Combees followed her inside, leaving the clearing devoid of all creatures except for Louise, her Pokémon, and the female Combee, who waved goodbye with its wing before heading back inside.  
  
“Wow…” Louise whispered in wonder before noticing that the sky was beginning to darken. Deciding to head back to camp, Louise turned around and began the walk back. When they arrived, Louise decided to release the freshly caught Fletchling, intending to heal its wounds and get to know it better.  
  
“Chirp!” The Fletchling cried out happily as it came out of the Luxury Ball, to which Louise smiled before turning around back to her backpack. To get the Full Restores, she had to pull out the honey jars. After grabbing the appropriate medicine, she turned around to apply it, only to notice the Fletchling trying to break inside the honey jars.  
  
“Hey! Stop it!” She scolded, making the Fletchling stop what she was doing. The Fletchling slightly glared at Louise, but nevertheless complied. Louise sighed and looked at the Fletchling with exasperated mirth.  
  
“You were after the honey the entire time, weren’t you, Aile?” At the mention of the word Aile, the Fletchling looked up at her in slight confusion, along with Brennaraki. “Aile. Where I come from, it means ‘Wing’. Like I told Brennaraki, I can’t keep calling you ‘Fletchling’ now can I?” Louise smiled at the bird, who gained a look of contemplation before happily chirping its approval.  
  
“Well, welcome to the team Aile. Come on, let’s get back to camp. We still have a few more days to go before we get to Santalune.” With that, Louise, Brennaraki, and the Fletchling, now properly named Aile, made their way back to camp.

* * *

As Louise had predicted, a few days later the group finally arrived in Santalune City. A trip that was supposed to take two days but had instead taken a week. As Louise made her way into the Pokémon Center, people cleared out of her way as they took in the sight of a person who had slept outside in the wilderness for a week, with all the accompanying effects. Louise had never been so dirty in her life. Dirt and grime covered her body, staining her once pristine Academy shirt to the point where it would probably have to be washed if she had any hope for it to be saved. Her hair was frizzed and frayed after not having been cleaned in a week. But the worst was the smell. Louise _reeked_ , to the point where one could swear stink lines and clouds were coming off her. But Louise ignored all of that, walking into the Pokémon Center right up to the head nurse, who visibly gagged at Louise’s stench.  
  
“Showers are over there, along with the washing machines,” the nurse, whose name according to the nametag was Joy, pointed to the back.  
  
“Thank you, Nurse Joy,” Louise grumbled out before handing over the Luxury Balls containing Brennaraki and Aile. “If you could heal them, I would very much appreciate it. I’m going to take a shower now. Thank you.” With that, Louise lumbered towards the back, disappearing from view until the sounds of running water erupted out, coupled with the sounds of the washer. As Louise took in the hot water, she thought about the events of that week, her trek through Route 3, and the encounters she had. She, at that moment, was more concerned about finally being cleaned thoroughly scrubbed herself, washing away all the dirt and grime that once coated her body. Even after she was done with the shower, she continued to clean herself and her hair, turning it back into its rightful pristine condition. By the time she was done, the washer and dryer had fully cleaned her clothes, allowing her to feel whole again.  
  
“Aah, thank you, Nurse Joy. Sorry for taking so long…” Louise thanked Nurse Joy, who merely smiled at her.  
  
“Don’t worry about it. Here at the Pokémon Center, we help those who are most in need. And, frankly… you needed it,” Nurse Joy replied in a teasing tone.  
  
“Don’t remind me…” Louise whispered under her breath before moving on. “How are Brennaraki and Aile?”  
  
“Your Fennekin and Fletchling are fine and at 100 percent. You take very good care of them,” Nurse Joy congratulated Louise, handing over their Luxury Balls. As Louise attached the collapsed balls onto her belt, she looked back up at Nurse Joy with another question.  
  
“I was hoping you could help me with something?” Louise tentatively asked Nurse Joy, who smiled at her and nodded. “I’m here to deliver something to a woman named Viola from Professor Sycamore. Do you know where I might find her?”  
  
“Viola? Oh, you mean…Yes, I know where she is. You might not like the answer, though…”  
  
“…just tell me,” Louise sighed, closing her eyes in resignation.

* * *

As Louise stood at the edge of town, her eye twitched as she took in the scene in front of her. Apparently, Viola worked as a freelance photographer and liked to take pictures of Bug Pokémon and would frequently take trips into the nearby Santalune Forest to take such photographs. Apparently, she only left while Louise was taking her shower, and had walked into the Pokémon Center to give Nurse Joy her schedule for the day Had she not taken so long, she might have caught her in town. But alas, that was not meant to be.  
  
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” Louise bit back a scream of rage as she begrudgingly entered the forest, with Brennaraki and Aile following behind her.

* * *

On the other side of Santalune Forest, where Route 2 went into the dark forest, a young boy stood at the threshold, his two Pokémon by his side. He was wearing a blue hoodie, a pair of worn jeans and black hiking boots, with a large, green hiking backpack atop his back.  
  
“Okay. Ronin, Tanuki, you guys ready for this?” The boy asked his Pokémon, looking down at their blue, diminutive forms.  
  
The two barked in reply before Tanuki hopped onto his shoulder, to which the boy only laughed. Ronin stoically remained on the ground, visibly having to hold itself back.  
  
“Ha-ha! Well, the Kalos League might not be Unova, but we’re still going to win it!” The boy yelled out with confidence as he walked into the forest.  
  
[~][~]


	7. Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise searches for Viola inside the deep Santalune Forest, only to run into a young boy from Unova fresh on his own Pokemon journey.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 3**

* * *

After an hour of walking through Santalune Forest, Louise had mixed feelings on the expedition so far. On one hand, it was easier than her trek down Parterre Way. Previously overburdened by the large hiking backpack, Louise wisely decided to only carry a small knapsack with some food, water, and medical supplies, along with the Beedrillite. The abundant trees provided ample shade from the sun, and coupled with a nice, cool breeze meant that she was kept cool, not hot and sweaty. There also weren’t any flies and mosquitoes around to bug her, which brought up the other side of the issue.

So. Many. Pokémon.

Practically every five steps had Louise run into a Pokémon that she, Brennaraki, and Aile had to fight off. Just in the past hour, she had to fight off a few Caterpies, Metapods, Scatterbugs, and Fletchlings, not to mention all the Weedles and Kakunas, all of which she scanned with her Pokédex. On the bright side, she was getting some good training in, but it was getting annoying.

“Founder, why are there so many bugs!” Louise grunted, having driven off another Weedle who had attempted to get into her knapsack. She sighed, before making her way deeper into the forest.

“Ms. Viola! Are you there? I have something for you from Professor Sycamore!” She shouted out, hoping to get a human response but receiving none.

“Okay, this is getting us nowhere,” she admitted, taking a sip of water to sooth her throat, sore from all the yelling she’d done. “Aile, can you fly around and try to find her, please?” Louise asked the Fletchling, who was currently perched on her shoulder and giving her an expectant look.

“Really, again? I just gave you some!” She scolded in exasperation.

Aile chirped and began jumping around in excitement. Louise sighed, before reluctantly kneeling down and opening up her knapsack, pulling out a slightly diminished jar of honey.

“You are the greediest bird I’ve ever seen, you know that?” Louise sighed, taking out a small spoon to feed Aile with. For the past hour, and indeed for the past few days since Aile’s capture, Louise had gotten to know the bird much more intimately than their initial encounter would have suggested. As it turned out, Aile was quite the glutton. If Aile wanted something, she was going to get it, with everyone else’s concerns secondary. For Louise to get her to do anything, she had to bribe Aile with something, usually the Combee honey.

“That’s the last one today, got it? No more,” Louise scolded, like a mother would to an unruly child. When Aile began to whine, Louise continued. “Uh-uh, no whining. Honey is desert, not a meal, got it?” Louise stated, lightly glaring at the small bird. When Aile didn’t respond, Louise intensified her glare until finally Aile nodded in agreement, causing Louise to smile.

“Thank you, that wasn’t so hard now, was it? Now, get going,” Louise ordered, to which Aile took to the air and began conducting a search. “Founder, now I know how the cook felt.” At this, Louise and Brennaraki followed after her, never losing track of the bird as it flew around.

“You know, Brennaraki. Take away all the hordes of Pokémon, and this forest isn’t that bad. It’s…tranquil, really,” Louise mused, as they continued to search, only to trip on an exposed tree root and fall flat on her face. “I take it back, this place is awful!” She grumbled, hearing the familiar laughter of the small fox and bird. Despite her frustration, Louise soon began to laugh as well, joining her two Pokémon in their amusement.

* * *

After half an hour minutes of searching, with the sun lying directly overhead, and still no sign of the elusive photographer, Louise decided to take a short break to catch her breath and eat. Laying out some bowls with Pokémon food for Brennaraki and Aile, Louise gnawed on a meal bar, contemplating her next move.

“Okay, so we’ve been searching in this forest for roughly an hour and a half by now, and there is no sign of Viola,” Louise stated, taking a bite out of her meal bar before continuing. “We still have a few hours before Viola told Nurse Joy she’d be heading back so we still have some time. Until then, are going to keep at it and search this forest until we find Viola and give her the Beedrillite, or the sun starts to go down, whichever comes first. Afterwards, we’ll…” At this, Louise paused, causing Brennaraki to look up at her in concern.

“What will we do?” Louise asked herself. She had been so distracted the past few weeks, what with being Sycamore’s assistant, bonding with Brennaraki, dealing with Elizabeth, and travelling cross country down Route 4, she hadn’t really thought about the reason why she was here in the first place: to prove her worth to Arceus. She only had a year to prove herself, and she doubted that being Professor Sycamore’s assistant for a year would prove herself worthy in his eyes, merely being a freeloader. No, she had to do something, prove that she was worthy of respect. But, if she didn’t, she didn’t know what would happen. Would she be allowed to go home, or would she be stuck here, permanently? Would be she allowed to keep Brennaraki and Aile?

As Louise sat in contemplation, Brennaraki and Aile continued to enjoy their fill, with Brennaraki growling at the bird as she attempted to help herself to the fox’s bowl. Before any altercation could occur, Louise suddenly stood up and directed the Pokémon’s attention toward her.

“Come on, let’s find Viola. I would rather not be stuck in this forest for the next three hours,” Louise signaled to Brennaraki and Aile, causing them both to jump off, ready to start searching again. “Now, I think at this point we can assume that what we are doing currently is not working. Aile, can you fly above the tree tops and search for a nearby clearing? That might be a good place to look,” Louise ordered. Aile attempted to ask for another helping of honey but was quickly silenced with a glare. Grumbling to herself, Aile took flight and flew past the leaves of the trees until she was out of sight. Smiling, Louise began to follow Aile, with Brennaraki not far behind.

“See, there we go. That wasn’t so hard now, was-and now I see the Sitrus Berries. Of course,” Louise sighed, grasping her nose as she finally spotted the yellow spotted fruit, recognizing it from her time at Sycamore’s lab. As it turned out, Aile had deliberately chosen the path towards some nearby Sitrus berries, and was gorging herself on them before noticing Louise’s glare. Unashamedly, Aile took off again, this time fully intending to follow Louise’s orders. After a few minutes, Aile came soaring back to Louise, having found a nearby clearing.

“Good job, Aile! Lead the way!” Louise exclaimed, quickly rushing after the Fletchling, with Brennaraki keeping up by her side. Soon enough, they reached the clearing, only to find it empty.

“Ms. Viola! Ms. Viola! Are you here!?” Louise shouted as they began to search around, upon hearing a yip from Brennaraki, Louise and Aile quickly made their way over to investigate. The fire fox had found a mud puddle with tracks leading out of it, almost as if someone had dumped a bucket of water onto the dirt and walked in it. “Viola was definitely here. It looks old, though,” Louise stated, crouched down to get a better look at the shoe prints, before directing her gaze down its path. She found a series of muddy footprints leading off into the forest. Oddly, Louise noted, Viola had some pretty large feet for a lady. Regardless, Louise began following the trail of footprints, hoping to find their source, never realizing that she was being watched by scheming eyes.

* * *

After another half hour of following the trail, Louise was able to take in a picture of what Viola must have done. Based off some nearby damage Louise found along the trail, Viola also must have encountered many of the forest residents and had to drive them off. Based off the abundance of water and mud, she must also be a Pokémon trainer and have a Water type Pokémon on hand to protect herself. Regardless, Louise pressed on, only stopping to drive off the occasional Pokémon. Eventually, however, as they neared another clearing, the trail ran cold, and the foot prints stopped.

“Great... Just as they were getting fresher, too,” Louise sighed before once again searching for more hints as to where Viola went. “Ms. Viola!” She shouted, before sighing when she didn’t receive a response.

“Aile, see if you can-” She started to order when the sound of rustling leaves caught her attention, putting her, Aile, and Brennaraki on guard. Looking around, she searched for the source of the rustling before settling on a small patchwork of tree branches, shaking slightly. As she prepared to give an order, the inhabitant of the tree showed itself. It was a small, blue and black bipedal dog, with a black mask like patch on its face that ended on both sides with a large black drops that could almost be mistaken for ears. Its eyes shone bright red, and a small yellow collar was wrapped around its neck. Not recognizing the Pokémon, Louise quickly pulled out her Pokédex and activated the scan function.

“ _Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolus, along with their evolution Lucario, are among the only species capable of channeling Aura. Their small bodies make mastery of Aura’s offensive use exceedingly difficult, however exceptions have been noted,_ ” the Pokédex spouted out.

“Aura? What is that? Is it similar to magic?” Louise asked herself before moving on, looking more closely at the data the Pokédex provided. Apparently, Riolus are not found in Santalune Forest, the closest being in Route 22, which meant that this Riolu was most likely a captured Pokémon. Deciding to trust her instincts, Louise decided to speak to the small canine. “Uh, Riolu…do you already have a trainer?” She asked to the creature, who silently nodded.

“I’m looking for a photographer named Viola. Do you know where I can find her?” Louise once again called out to the diminutive creature, who, after a moments pause, nodded in affirmation before beckoning her to follow it. “Great! Thank you so much!” Louise shouted back up to the Riolu as she walked over to it, its eyes never leaving her.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate you help with this. I have had a horrible week and-” Louise started thanking the Riolu before a small snap beneath her feet caught her attention, directing her, Aile’s, and Brennaraki’s gaze downward, only to see a broken string underneath her feet. “What…why is there a string here?” She asked herself before a clunking sound, coming from above her, caused their heads to look up. What they saw caused their eyes to shrink, as above their heads, connected to a now lax string, was a fairly large, hastily woven basket, filled with a wide assortment of berries. Unfortunately for them, it began to tip. Next to it, hanging upside down from a nearby branch, was a smirking Riolu, which finally clued Louise in to its intentions.

“You son of a-!” Louise began to shout as Aile tried to hastily get away, only to be caught up in the sudden downpour of Sitrus, Pecha, Rawst, and Oran berries. Louise shielded her head with her arms as she was bombarded by the berries, many of which burst open as they made contact, spilling their juices on her clothes, skin and hair. Once the downpour of berries stopped, Louise opened her eyes and took in the sight of her now multicolored stained clothes, along with a damp and sticky Brennaraki and Aile. As she looked back up in shock at Riolu, she found it now on top of the branch and rolling on its back, laughing as hard as it possibly could as it looked at her predicament, hard enough so that it was crying, causing her to begin shaking in indignant rage.

“How-HOW DARE YOU!” She shrieked at the Riolu, who simply got up and stuck its tongue out at her, pulling its eyelid down as it did so. “EMBER! PECK!” Louise shouted orders to Brennaraki and Aile, who happily complied, also furious at the Riolu. To her shock, the Riolu gracefully jumped over Aile and batted away the fireball with a metallic, glowing hand before making a three-point landing on the ground in front of Louise. As it looked back at her stunned expression, it smirked, turned around and shook its butt at her before running off deeper into the forest.

“After that stupid dog!” Louise shouted, chasing after the mischievous canine with Aile and Brennaraki following. As they chased the laughing Riolu, they would sporadically attempt to hit its retreating form with Embers and Pecks, only to have been be effortlessly dodged, even if it couldn’t see where they were coming from. To its credit, Louise would begrudgingly admit it was well trained as it dodged another dive bomb and fireball, but she didn’t care for that right now. This dog had humiliated her, and now she wanted it to pay. In her rage, she never noticed that the Riolu seemed to be enjoying the chase and was deliberately holding itself back.

After several minutes of chasing, attacking and dodging, the distance between the Riolu and Louise began to shorten enough so that she could almost grab it. Before she could, the Riolu took a sharp turn past a small grove of trees and ran into a clearing. Entirely focused on the Riolu, Louise took the turn as well, only to accidentally crash into another person, whom the Riolu ran behind. Louise could only make out that it was a boy before they made contact.

“Ooof!” The two of them grunted as they crashed into one another and tumbled, before coming to a rest and sprawled across the ground, with Louise lying on top of the boy. As she opened her eyes, she too in his white skin, blue eyes and black hair, with him looking at her pink eyes and hair, before a bright blush enveloped them as they finally took in the position they were in.

“Oh Founder/Arceus, I’m so sorry!” The two of them shouted as they apologized, hastily getting to their feet. As they brushed themselves off of the dust, they took a step back, the blush still adorned on their faces.

“Are you-Arceus, what happened to you?!” The boy shouted in concern, finally noticing the berry juice stains covering Louise’s and her Pokémon’s bodies. He quickly reached into his small backpack and pulled out a piece of cloth and handed it over. “Here.”

“Thank you,” Louise thanked the boy as she took the cloth, wiping her face, arms, and hands. As she did, she was able to take in more of his features. He was wearing a blue and white pull up hoodie-turtleneck, along with a pair of dark blue jeans, contrasting Louise’s lighter pair. Unlike Louise, he was not wearing hiking boots, rather a pair of blue sneakers. Instead of a hiking backpack, his backpack was smaller, similar to a large, multi-pocketed school backpack with a blue Pokéball design on it. Realizing that she was staring, Louise quickly handed the cloth back to the boy, who simply stared at it in confusion before Louise realized her mistake, pocketing it.

“-sorry about that,” Louise sheepishly apologized, looking off to the side in embarrassment.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You okay?” The boy asked in concern.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

“What happened to you? You look like you just came out of an arts and crafts store.”

“Well you see, I was-YOU!” Louise suddenly yelled as the Riolu poked its head out from behind the boy’s legs, sticking its tongue out at her. “Gagh!” She grunted as she lunged for the Riolu, only to be held back by the boy.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, calm down!” The boy grunted as he held Louise back. After a bit of struggle, she finally relented and ceased attempting to strangle the Riolu, stepping back to glare at it. “I think I understand what happened now. Tanuki, what did you do?”

“Your stupid dog dumped a basket full of rotten berries all over me and my Pokémon, that what it did!”

“Really, Tanuki?! We’ve been over this!”

“Bark!” The Riolu, now properly identified as Tanuki, crossed its arms and barked, pride evident in its face.

“Ugh, listen Miss…?” The boy started to apologize before stopping. “I don’t we’ve actually said our names yet. I’m Saito Hiraga, you’ve already met Tanuki, and Ronin should be around here somewhere-there he is!” The boy, apparently named Saito, shouted out as he pointed towards the edge of the clearing at a small blue and white otter, wearing a scallop shell on its chest. Louise made a mental note to scan Ronin after she was done yelling at the boy in-front of her.

“I’m Louise Vallière,” Louise coldly replied.

“Heh, well…Louise. I am terribly sorry about Tanuki here. He like to pull pranks. He’s harmless, really,” Saito said, attempting to placate Louise. Unfortunately, judging by her stormy expression, he failed.

“You’re sorry!? That’s not good enough! That dog of yours ruined my clothes! I don’t think my shirt can be saved, you plebian!”

“Okay now, calm down. I know that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here, but…” Saito started, only to get interrupted again by the enraged girl in front of him.

“Honestly, how can you call yourself a trainer if that dog keeps doing that!? If that is any indication of your training ability, you should be ashamed of yourself. ‘Tanuki’ needs to be trained better!” At this, Saito stopped and glared at Louise.

“Train him better? Lady, I don’t know who you think you are, but do not tell me how to train my Pokémon!” Saito shouted right back, insulted.

“Oh, I sincerely doubt that you could control that thing!” Louse scoffed in disbelief.

“I have a Gym Badge! Earned with Ronin and Tanuki over in Unova! How many do you have?!” Saito shouted back indignantly.  At this, Louise paused for a moment, reaching back in search of the familiar sounding word, only to come up blank.

“…I have absolutely no idea what a ‘Gym Badge’ is, but I sincerely doubt you are a better trainer than me!” Louise proudly declared.

“…What?” Saito asked in disbelief. Who didn’t know what a Gym Badge was? Before he could ask that, Louise answered.

“In fact, I’ll prove it! I challenge you to a battle!” At this statement, made with the utmost confidence, Saito went silent. As the silence went on, Louise smirked in apparent victory before Saito broke out into a confident smile.

“You’re on!”

[~][~]


	8. Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito have a Pokemon battle to prove which is the better trainer, and the young noble learns of grand new opportunity before her.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 4**

* * *

 

“Last chance to back out, lady,” Saito confidently yelled from across the clearing.

“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Louise retorted in a huff.

“Heh, I’m going to enjoy this. Come on out, Ronin!” Saito shouted, directing the Pokémon in question out onto the field. Deciding that she didn’t want to go in blind, Louise pulled out her Pokédex, catching Saito’s attention. “You have a Pokédex?” Saito’s question went unanswered as the Pokédex sounded off.

“ _Oshawatt, the Sea Otter Pokémon. Oshawatts use their Scalchop for both offensive and defensive purposes, and are crucial in the species survival_ ,” the Pokédex informed Louise, who was looking at the basic species information.

“A Water type, huh? Explains the mud and water I found earlier... Wait, were those your tracks I was following?!” Louise shouted out in indignation.

“You were following my tracks?! What are you, a stalker?!” Saito remarked, both a little creeped out and intending to rile up the pinkette.

“What?! No! I was trying to-Aaagh! Aile, go!” Louise sputtered.

Aile cried out, flying onto the makeshift arena. This ‘Ronin’ might not be the Riolu that humiliated her, but she could at least take her anger out on him. To her and Louise’s surprise, and Saito’s exasperation, the Oshawatt proceeded to respectfully bow before readying himself for combat. In the meantime, the two trainers paused before shouting out their commands.

“Aile, Tailwind! /Ronin, Water Gun!” The two ordered to the awaiting ears of their Pokémon. Aile quickly began flapping, generating a constant gust of wind from behind, allowing her to quickly dodge the sudden burst of water Ronin released. The bursts of water kept coming, forcing Aile to constantly dodge the incoming attacks.

“Aile, dive down and use Peck!” Louise shouted just as another burst of water shot out, which Aile swiftly dived underneath, aiming to beam Ronin in the head. As more bursts of water shot out towards her, Aile began rolling, nimbly avoiding any water, before finally nearing her target at maximum speed.

“Block it!” Saito voice suddenly rang out. Ronin, to Aile’s shock, quickly removed his scalchop from his chest and swung it upwards, redirecting Aile’s momentum away from himself at the last moment and halting the bird in her tracks. Before Louise could respond, Saito voice rang out again. “Air Slash!” The upward scalchop swiftly came crashing down, sending a slice of compressed air directly into Aile at point blank range, sending her flying backwards into the dirt.

“Aile!” Louise shouted in worry as Aile rolled back across the ground. When Aile used the momentum to launch herself back into the air, Louise sighed in relief before issuing another order. “Okay, fly around back and use Peck again!”

Hearing her trainer’s command, Aile boosted around in a wide bank, flying past any slices of air sent her way before initiating another dive bomb. As she neared her target, Ronin prepared his scalchop once again, only for Louise’s voice to suddenly ring out.

“Fly just above then attack from its back!” Aile immediately complied, barely missing Ronin’s head before quickly flipping in midair and speeding towards the exposed and defenseless back of the surprised otter. Caught off guard, Ronin was unable to react in time and received a direct hit, sending him to the floor as Aile swiftly flew back up into the air.

Saito gave a small smile that was matched by Ronin as Ronin flipped back onto his feet. “Not bad, but not good enough! Ronin, run and gun!” Saito shouted out, impressed with the rookie’s performance so far. Ronin, also becoming impressed, began running, firing off bursts of water and slices of air in rapid succession towards the dodging bird, practically forming a cage of wind and water around her and preventing escape.

“Aile, get out of there!” Louise shouted, recognizing the danger she was in, only for her alarm to increase as the Tailwind died down. Without the added speed boost the Tailwind provided, Aile slowed down considerably, leaving her open to a double hit of water and compressed air. The force of the hits proved to be too much, sending her crashing into the ground once again. This time, she did not get up.

“Aile!” Louise yelled before pulling out her Luxury Ball, returning the knocked-out bird to the safe confines of the ball. “How did-?”

“Tailwinds die down, eventually! Surely a ‘skilled’ trainer such as yourself would have realized that!” Saito mocked.

“Grrrh, go Brennaraki!” Louise grunted out, send Brennaraki onto the field. This was not a good situation at all for her. Taking Brennaraki, a Fire type, up against Ronin, a Water type, put her at a severe disadvantage, but she was determined to see this through to the end. To her and Brennaraki’s shock, a red beam shot out and impacted Ronin, returning him to his Pokéball. At Louise’s confused look, Saito grinned.

“What? I said switching was allowed. Come on out, Tanuki!” Saito taunted, directing the canine into the clearing. Rather than run out, Tanuki jumped from Saito’s shoulder in a flip, twirling in the air before landing on his feet, eyes closed shut. At the sight of the Riolu, Louise’s eyes narrowed.

“You…Brennaraki, use Ember!” Louise ordered in a rage. Brennaraki, itching for some payback, began firing salvo after salvo of fireballs at the canine. As the fireballs neared Tanuki, he suddenly leaned far back, making the fireballs shoot wide above him. After they passed, he once again stood upright, a smirk adorning his face as he finally opened his eyes.

“You said that Tanuki isn’t well trained? Well, we’re about to prove you wrong!” Saito shouted, his arms crossed.

“As if that mangy dog could be properly trained! Brennaraki, get in close and fire an Ember!” At Louise’s command, Brennaraki began charging towards Tanuki, firing off fireballs as she did so.

“Tanuki, charge!” Tanuki, to Louise’s surprise, began running towards the charging fox. As each fireball neared Tanuki, he gracefully dodged each one in rapid succession with a rapid series of jumps, slides and spins, before the two finally met and quickly descended to a melee brawl.

Brennaraki, using her fangs and claws, began relentlessly attacking the canine, getting some good hits in. Tanuki, however, deflected most of the blows with his arms and legs, not to mention getting some rapid punches and kicks in for good measure. Seeing the battle starting to go against her, Louise desperately wracked her brain for a plan.

“Brennaraki- Umm Tackle him!” Louise shouted, desperate. Brennaraki quickly complied, kicking a punch away from Tanuki before tackling him to the ground, with her on top. “Ember!” As the fireball formed in the fox’s mouth, Tanuki’s eyes shrunk as he struggled to get her off, but was unable to successfully do so as his head became engulfed in fire.

“Tanuki!” Saito shouted out in concern. “Quick, use-!” Before Saito could manage to finish his order, Tanuki managed to rear his legs and violently kicked the fox off his body, while he rolled backwards onto his feet. As she struggled to push herself back up, Tanuki, rather than wait for Saito’s orders, rapidly sped towards the downed fox, faster than Louise could track. Tanuki, moving with such high speed, hit Brennaraki with tremendous force, slamming her into the ground hard enough for her to bounce. Before she could reach the top of her bounce, Tanuki performed a sideways spin jump, his paw outstretched and glowing, before delivering a brutal punch directly into Brennaraki’s gut, slamming her back onto the ground. This time, she did not even attempt to get back up.

“Brennaraki!” Louise yelled out in alarm, running onto the field to check on her downed starter as Tanuki ran back to his beaming trainer.

“Tanuki, what did I say about doing things on your own?” Saito slightly scolded the small, who only gave a small shrug in response. Saito then smirked at his Pokémon’s antics, and knelt down. “Well, can’t argue with the results. Good job, Tanuki,” Saito congratulated his Pokémon before standing up straight once more.

“So, I think we can assume that I’m not a bad trainer, aren’t I?” Saito asked with expectation. When he didn’t receive a response, he turned to look at Louise, only to see her pathetically holding the knocked-out form of her beloved Pokémon. Concern began to form in the pit of Saito’s stomach as he looked upon her, which only amplified when Tanuki began tugging at his pant leg while pointing at her, directing him to offer help. Deciding to heed the advice of his Pokémon, he quietly walked over to her.

“Hey, you okay?” Saito asked in clear concern, kneeling to get a closer look.

“Why do you care?” Louise barked back, humiliated over the loss.

“Because I do, that’s why. Let’s patch your Pokémon up, okay?” Saito replied, holding out his hand to help Louise up to her feet. After a moment’s hesitation, Louise slowly offered her hand in kind, allowing Saito to help her to her feet. Saito carefully took hold of Brennaraki and laid her down on the ground before pulling out some small packets of powder. Opening up Brennaraki’s mouth, he gently poured the powder inside.

“…I’m sorry,” Louise whispered, embarrassed beyond belief at the turn of events.

“For what?” Saito replied as he continued to check on Brennaraki, who was now beginning to stir.

“…for saying you were a bad trainer.”

“It’s fine, really. In hindsight…you were obviously venting. Rough week?”

“Something like that,” Louise admitted. When Brennaraki’s eyes slowly revealed themselves, she excitedly pushed Saito aside, receiving a “Hey!” that she paid no heed as she hugged the revived fox, while at the same time pulling out a Full Restore. “Brennaraki! Are you okay?”

“Okay, just push me aside, no big deal-wait. You’re a rookie. Why do you have Full Restores? And for that matter, how did you get a Pokédex?” Saito inquired, prepping another packet for Aile.

“I got my Pokédex from Professor Sycamore. As for the Full Restores, I bought them. I only get the best, after all,” Louise admitted, releasing Aile from her Luxury Ball, allowing Saito to administer what she assumed to be a Revive. She made a mental note to bring some along next time.

“…then why did you get Luxury Balls and not Ultra Balls?”

“What do you mean? Luxury Balls are best type of Pokéball there are, that’s what the Poké-Mart Supercenter in Lumiose said.”  
  
“Luxury Balls are the most expensive type of Pokéball there are, but their only benefit is that they are more comfortable than other ball types. Besides that, they are about as useful as standard Pokéballs. If you really wanted the best type of ball, you should have gotten Ultra Balls. Who told you that Luxury Balls were the best?” Saito inquired, confused as to Louise’s spending habits. At this point, Aile had woken up and had a Full Restore already administered. At the reveal of this new information, Louise grew silent.

“It was the store attendant. I got separated from Professor Sycamore and… That lying red-haired… She lied to me, didn’t she!? So I would spend more money!?” Louise angrily shouted out.

“It appears so. Sorry,” Saito apologized as Louise continued to rage, slightly amused before continuing on. “So, what exactly are you doing out here, anyway?” Saito asked, giving Louise a chance to calm herself down before she answered.

“I’m on an errand for Professor Sycamore.”

“I assume that’s where you got the Pokédex and the Fen-Brennaraki, from?”

“You would be correct. I…fell into his care a few weeks back and became his assistant. A week ago he asked me to deliver something to a person in Santalune. When I got here, she had apparently gone into the forest, and rather than wait for her to return decided to come in myself. Clearly a smart decision…” Louise grumbled out the last part.

“Doesn’t it take only three days to go south down Parterre Way?” At seeing Louise’s annoyed look, Saito wisely decided to move on. “So, what are you delivering and who is it for?” After a few seconds, Louise pulled took her knapsack off and opened it before pulling out a spherical gem.

“Is that a Mega Stone?” Saito asked, amazed at the sight. He had never actually seen one this close before, but he knew what they did.

“According to the Professor, it’s a Beedrillite. I’m supposed to deliver it to a person named Viola, who apparently is some sort of photographer.”

“Wait…Viola, as in the Gym Leader of Santalune? That’s who you’re delivering the Beedrillite to?”

“…what’s a Gym Leader?” Louise asked, confused.

“You’re kidding, right?” Seeing Louise shake her head, Saito sighed before answering. “A Gym Leader is a League certified trainer who runs and operates a city’s Pokémon Gym. You go in, challenge the Gym Leader and have a battle. If you win, they give you a Gym Badge, certifying that they felt you were qualified enough to earn it. Most of the time. Sometimes they hand them out for other reasons, but those are rare nowadays. Viola is the Gym Leader of Santalune City, specializing in Bug types. She also has a job as a photographer for the Lumiose Press.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

“My guess is that they assumed you knew, it’s common knowledge.”

“Ugh, that’s…great to hear.”

“Frankly I’m surprised you didn’t know,” Saito admitted, rubbing the top of his head. At this point, the two of them stood up, their Pokémon following suit. “Is that why you were chasing after Tanuki?”

“Yes, the little… I asked him if he knew where I could find Viola and he said he did. Then, he dumped a basket of berries all over me, which lead to…this.” Louise admitted, glaring at the canine. “Apparently, your Riolu likes to lie to people.”

“I…don’t think he actually lied to you. Tanuki likes to pull pranks, but he’s never actually lied before. Tanuki, you know where Viola is?” Saito asked his Pokémon, who quickly nodded before pointed out towards the forest. “Ahh, so Tanuki saw her over there, somewhere…that’s not much to go on, bud.”

“It’s better than what I had before. Thank you, really. Sorry about that whole-…thing. You didn’t deserve that. We’re going to head that way. I guess I’ll…see you later,” Louise thanked Saito, walking off in the direction Tanuki pointed towards. As she walked away, Saito felt another pull at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Ronin, who had apparently released himself from his Pokéball, and Tanuki looking upwards at him, expectedly.

“What?” Saito asked, confused.

The two of them barked an answer, pointing after Louise’s form.

“Go after her? Look, guys, I know you mean well, but this isn’t our concern. Our concern is getting to Lumiose for our next Gym Badge. We were lucky enough to have our Unova badge get accepted here and I don’t-” Saito replied before hearing a small crash towards the edge of the forest. Turning towards it, he saw that Louise had tripped over an exposed tree root and judging by her reaction, this was not the first time. Looking back down at his Pokémon, the two of them stared, each sporting an up ticked eyebrow before nodding their heads towards Louise’s form. “Arceus…” Saito sighed, jogging up to Louise, who was picking herself back up and speaking in some foreign language of some sort.

“Hey, listen. For all we know, Viola might not be in the same spot as before. Tanuki here, though, can sense Aura. How about I come along and help you find her?” Saito offered.

“…why?”

“Frankly, you look like you’ll get lost and there’s only a few hours left of daylight,” Saito responded with brutal honesty, only to receive a silent, enraged glare back. “…I could have worded that batter, couldn’t I?”

“I’m not even going to respond to that. Thanks, but no thanks,” Louise barked back before walking off, grumbling.

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Saito hastily called out, running in front of an annoyed Louise. “That came out wrong. Seriously, let me help. This will go a lot faster with two people and four Pokémon, don’t you think?” At this, Louise stared back at him in slight annoyance. Before she could retort, Brennaraki yipped at her, barking a command.

“What?” Louise whispered to her starter. After receiving another yip and walking over to Saito’s feet, Louise got the message. “No, absolutely not. I can do this on my own! We don’t need his help!” She angrily stated, only to receive another yip in response, coupled with a chirp from Aile.

“Aaagh, fine! My Pokémon seem convinced that we need your help, so…I graciously accept your offer of assistance,” Louise reluctantly accepted.

“Okay then, let’s-” Saito started, preparing to follow Tanuki into the woods before being stopped by Louise stepping in front of him.

“This is only a temporarily thing, understand? We are not suddenly ‘travelling partners’ or some other nonsense. You help me find Viola, then we can go on our separate ways. Okay?” Louise demanded, finality in her voice.

“Fine by me. Come on, let’s follow Tanuki. He’ll lead the way,” Saito affirmed, slightly peeved at her behavior. The status of their temporary partnership confirmed, the two followed the diminutive form of Tanuki deeper into the forest, determined to find Viola and finally put an end to this leg of the journey.

[~][~]


	9. Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito continue their trek through Santalune Forest, trying to find Viola, and tempers begin to flare between the two.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 1**

* * *

 

As Saito and Louise continued to follow the diminutive form of Tanuki, an uncomfortable silence befell them. Saito frequently stole glances back at Louise, only to see her frowning in frustration. If he had to guess, it appears she still hadn’t quite forgiven him for the humiliating loss she suffered at his hands. Likely, it was her first loss. Before the silence had started getting oppressive, Saito spoke up.

“So…you know Professor Sycamore, huh?” Saito asked Louise, attempting to at the very least start up a conversation. When she didn’t respond, he decided to continue. “How’d you meet him? Must have left a good impression if he decided to give you a Pokémon and a Pokédex.”

“…yes, I know him,” Louise finally spoke up. “As I told you before, I fell into his care a few weeks back and became his assistant. Apparently, you weren’t paying attention.”

“Yeah…sorry. Just trying to…anyway, what was it like working with him?”

“…it was…nice. He was kind, understanding, and a little boneheaded at times. If it weren’t for the…never mind. Point is, I enjoyed my time there, especially more than my time since then.” Louise admitted. Saito, however, noticed the slip up that Louise almost had, but, recognizing that this was probably a personal matter for her, wisely avoided the topic. “What about you?”

“Well, I wasn’t an assistant, but I did get to meet Professor Juniper. That’s how I got Ronin and my Pokédex here.”

“You have a Pokédex, too? Can I see?”

“Yeah, sure.” Saito complied, pulling out his blue Pokédex. Unlike Louise’s model, which was more of a collapsible tablet, Saito’s Pokédex looked more like one of those “smartphones” Louise had heard so much about. It was much smaller than hers, able to fit into the palm of one’s hand. “It has all the features of the Kalosian Pokédex, and it can also do phone calls.”

“Huh. I don’t think mine can do phone calls, but I think it can do video calls. That’s the same thing, right?”

“Uhh, yeah. Yeah, it kinda is...” Saito answered, while also wondering just what cave this girl crawled out of. Again, an uncomfortable silence befell the two, only to be broken by a yip from Brennaraki, who was currently chatting with Ronin. If Saito had to guess, Ronin was giving the fire fox some battle tips. Aile, meanwhile, hopped from tree to tree, going after the multitude of berries that grew in abundance.

“…how’d you get them? Ronin and Tanuki, I mean?” Louise asked, gazing down at the two Pokémon chatting away.

“Well, with Ronin, I got him from Professor Juniper. Tanuki was the first Pokémon I caught on my own. They’re kinda long stories, you sure you want to hear them?” Saito asked, only to receive a stare from Louise in response.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Well, with Ronin, I had to go through the standard process most trainers undertake when they get a starter from a Regional Professor. I’m assuming that didn’t happen to you?” She shook her head, to which Saito nodded in slight understanding.

“Unless you know the professor, it’s a very complicated process, involving interviews, questionnaires, and even a test, one that I barely passed…” Saito whispered that last part before moving on. “After that, you meet the professor, and if they say you are good to go, you choose a starter. If not, you don’t get one.”

“I take it that Ronin was your starter?” Louise guessed.

“Yeah. Ronin and I just…clicked, really. Kinda like you and Brennaraki, I assume,” Saito looked out at the small fox, still excitedly talking to his starter.

Louise smiled at this. “Yeah, I guess so. What about Tanuki?”

“Well, Tanuki is a bit of an interesting case. You see, near Flocessy Town, over in Unova, there a ranch that bared the same name. Flocessy Ranch was home to many different species of wild Pokémon, one of which were Riolus. Just like Tanuki, whom I met while I was there.”

“So, you battled then proceeded to catch him?”

“No... It’s funny, really. He and I met the same way you two met.”

“He dumped a basket of rotten berries on you, too?”

“Close. It was a bucket of water, actually.”

“…then came the battle, right?”

“Actually…I called him an amateur and said I could do better.” Saito sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Louise only glared at him in mild disappointment.

“…go on,” She commanded.

“Well, long story short, we… ended up engaging in a prank war that ended with him and I turning an entire Bouffalant herd pink and being chased off the ranch by very angry and very pink bovines, along with very pink ranch hands.” Saito declared with a hint of pride, holding back a few laughs.

Louise simply stared. “You…turned an entire herd…pink?”

“Yep. Have to say, I’m quite proud of that one,” Saito admitted, puffing out his chest just a little. Louise continued to stare in silence before she pinched her nose in frustration, disappointment, and exasperation all at once and sighed.

“Anyway,” Saito began, attempting to get the conversation back on track, “afterward, Tanuki decided to stick around, --- and we’ve been together ever since. What about you? How’d you get Brennaraki and Aile?”

“Seems fair to tell you,” Louise answered after recomposing herself. “Well, Aile’s the simple one. I caught her when she was attempting to hunt some Combees for their honey. She…still hasn’t quite forgiven me for that, and if I want her to do anything I have to bribe her with the aforementioned honey.”

“Wait, you have actual Combee honey? **”** Saito inquired. “I’ve never had some. May I?”

“I don’t see why not,” Louise declared, pulling out a honey jar and spoon, and attracting the attention of Aile, who quickly flew down to her. “Aile, no! I said no! No more today!” Louise shouted at the bird attempting to steal a morsel of honey. Dejected and angry, Aile resumed her berry harvest. “Honestly, that bird…here.”

Saito quickly took the offered spoon and took it into his mouth. “Mmph. This is good.” Saito looked back at Louise and motioned for her to continue.

“Thank you. As for Brennaraki, that is a bit more…complicated. You remember that I was Professor Sycamore’s assistant, right?”

“Mmph-hmph” Saito answered, spoon still in his mouth.

Louise grimaced at Saito’s improper manners but decided to move on rather than bring more attention to it. “Anyway, while I was there, I eventually met Brennaraki, who at the time didn’t really trust people. I’m sure you noticed that she is a Shiny, correct?”

“I was going to ask about that--.”

“Well, you see, this posed quite a bit of a problem. As you can imagine, Shiny Pokémon are quite rare, and with Brennaraki being a Shiny Starter, and a female for that matter…”

“Sycamore had every breeder in the region scrambling over each other to get her,” Saito finished her statement, correctly guessing the rest of what Louise was going to say.

“Indeed. People from all over Kalos came to Sycamore attempting to buy her, offering enormous sums of money to do so. Fortunes, really.”

“But Brennaraki didn’t want that, I take it?”

“No, she did not. She wanted to battle, and thankfully Professor Sycamore recognized that and refused their offers every time. The ones that got further in were quickly rejected by Brennaraki, who after a while came to believe that anyone that wanted her, wanted her simply because of her different coloring, to be a trophy and paraded, just to show off how wealthy they were…” Louise ranted. Saito sensed that this was an uncomfortable topic for her, and wisely decided to move on.

“So, why did Brennaraki choose you?”

“After I first met her, we bonded over the course of a week. I…sympathized with her situation, and I think she recognized that. But, we didn’t truly become partners until a week after I first met her.”

“What happened?”

“A…particularly determined collector, after she was refused by Professor Sycamore, decided that she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and stole Sycamore’s spare key. That night, while I was doing some work for him, she broke in and attempted to make off with Brennaraki’s Pokéball. I caught her during the attempt and stopped it, even giving Brennaraki commands. Her stupid rat did bite me, however.”

“Ooh, where’d they get you?”

“Just in the leg. It wasn’t too bad but it did leave a scar. Afterward, Sycamore banned her from the lab, fixed up my wound, and then allowed me to keep Brennaraki. We’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s…impressive. I guess right after this was right before you're errand?”

“That is correct. Just need to deliver this Mega Stone to Viola, and then…” Louise trailed off.

“Participate in the Pokémon League, right?” Saito guessed.

“…what’s the ‘Pokémon League’, exactly? It’s some kind of governing organization, right?”

“… You’re kidding me, right? Seriously, you don’t know what the Pokémon League is?” Saito asked in absolute wonder. When she shook her head, he closed his eyes and sighed. “What rock did you…never mind. Okay, you remember when I said that Viola was a Gym Leader, right?”

“Yes. League sanctioned trainer, runs a Gym, you challenge them, get a badge, that’s it?”

“… Not exactly. Yes, you get a badge from beating a Gym Leader. But, that isn’t the whole story. Basically, a Gym Badge serves as a marker for your progress as a trainer. If you get eight of them, you are allowed access to the annual Pokémon League Tournament. Trainers from all over the region come together to compete and whoever wins gets crowned Champion.”

“Huh,” Louise hummed to herself, contemplating Saito’s words before looking up at him with a strange look in her eyes. “So, you win the league, and become Champion of the Region?”

“Actually, there is a difference between the Pokémon League Champion and the Regional Champion” Saito correct. “After a trainer wins the Pokémon League, they get the opportunity to officially challenge the Elite Four. If a person beats them, they get to challenge the Regional Champion, the strongest trainer in the entire region. If the Regional Champion is defeated, the Pokémon League Champion becomes the Regional Champion.”

“Hmm…” Louise pondered. “Who are the Elite Four and Champion of Kalos?”

“Well, the current Champion of Kalos is Diantha Carnet, an actress actually. From what I can tell, a very good and successful one. In terms of the Kalos Elite Four, that's--…complicated.”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“You really don’t know, do you?” Saito sighed and started shaking his head. “How long have you been in Kalos, by any chance?”

“Around a month, why?”

“I guess he didn’t tell you” Saito whispered to himself. “...do you know who Team Flare is?” Saito asked in a tone that told Louise plainly that this was a serious topic. When she shook her head, he continued.

“Team Flare was…a terrorist group, led by Lysandre Fleur. They believed that the Earth had become ‘ugly’ and needed to be cleansed. To accomplish this goal, they used the power of Mega Evolution and the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde to create a weapon that could wipe out the population of entire regions if left unchecked.” Saito paused at this and clenched his fist in anger before calming himself and moving on.

“About a year ago, during the Pokémon League Tournament’s ending ceremony, Team Flare attacked Lumiose with a mind-controlled Zygarde and the weapon. By the time they were finally stopped, property damage was in the millions, hundreds were injured and a couple of people died, it was a complete disaster. Afterwards, there was an investigation that took months. The ensuing scandal took even longer.

“What happened?” Louise gasped, horrified at what Saito was telling her.

“It turned out that one of Team Flare’s highest-ranking officers was Malva Pachira, a highly influential reporter and, most importantly, a member of Kalos’ Elite Four, although she defected during the actual assault, participated in the planning of the attack and the cover-up of Team Flare’s previous actions.”

“Founder…”

Briefly pausing at the odd phase Louise had used, Saito continued. “Yep. It was a colossal scandal that nearly destroyed the League’s credibility in Kalos.”

“What happened to Malva?”

“She offered to resign from her post, but ultimately the courts found that, although she did help Team Flare’s plans, she did ultimately help to stop Lysandre’s madness and prevented a lot of deaths. As such, she simply got probation.”

“What about the rest of the Elite Four?”

“The rest were completely acquitted and had nothing to do with Team Flare’s actions. But, ultimately the damage was done. It got so bad, there almost wasn’t even a League Tournament this year”

“That’s just…wow…” Louise trailed off, unable to fully form the words.

“Yeah...” Saito looked out into the forest. “… Worked to my benefit, at least. They were so desperate for trainers to participate that they accepted my Unovan Gym Badge, meaning I already have one of out the eight. Normally, that doesn’t happen. Although, it probably helped that I only had the one…”

“So… When does this Pokémon League actually occur?” Louise asked, hoping to shift the discussion away from this uncomfortable topic.

“At the end of the current League Season, so in about eleven months.”

“I take it that you plan on participating?”

“Yep.” Saito quickly answered, pulling out his badge case and opening it, revealing a gold pin with purple squares and rectangles in its center. “This is my Basic Badge. Got it by beating the Gym Leader of Aspertia City with Ronin and Tanuki.”

“Wait, I just realized something. If you already have a Gym Badge from Unova…why are you doing the rest in Kalos? You just said that doesn’t usually happen.” As the words left Louise’s mouth, a silence descended upon the group as Saito suddenly stopped, along with his Pokémon. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it—” Louise offered, attempting to avoid the obviously uncomfortable topic, only to be waved off by Saito.

“No, no, it’s fine… I…” Saito trailed off, attempting to form the right words. “… I actually started late compared to everyone else.”

“Late? What do you mean?” Louise raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“I’ve…only been a trainer for about two months…”

“I don’t…see how that is an issue. So, you’re a beginner like me, what’s the problem with that?”

“… Most start out when they are ten. I didn’t start until I was seventeen, which was two months ago.” Saito admitted, with embarrassment clearly heard and avoiding eye contact.

“… People send ten-year-old children out unsupervised with Pokémon?” Louise could barely believe Saito’s words, the concept so alien to her. “What kind of irresponsible…”

“That’s what my parents thought as well. They refused to let me undertake a Pokémon journey until I was older and more capable. Not to say I don’t understand, but when you see everyone else your age talking about their adventures while you had to stay home over the summer and read books about Pokémon rather than train them yourself…”

“You felt left out,” Louise finished Saito’s sentence. “Like you didn’t belong.”

“Yeah…” Saito trailed off, a silence once again descending on the group. “As for why I’m doing the rest of my journey in Kalos and not Unova…my parents had to move to Vaniville Town due to their job right after I started my journey, and I had to come with them.” Saito admitted, frustration creeping into his voice.

“I guess that makes sense,” Louise didn’t fully understand why Saito would be frustrated by that, but before she could go further Saito cut in.

“Well, I think we’ve wasted enough time. Let’s get going, shall we?” Saito suggesting, perhaps a bit hastily.

“I think you’re right. Tanuki, is Viola still there?” Louise agreed, gently asking the diminutive canine to see for them once again. Tanuki quickly closed his eyes and concentrated, before nodding his head.

“Weird how she’s just staying in one place after all this time. Must be doing her photography,” Saito suggested. “Well, either way, let’s get going. The sooner we find Viola, the sooner we get out of here.” At that, the duo continued, moving deeper into the dark forest.

As they continued along, the two trainers and their Pokémon felt another silence descend upon them. Although not to the extent of being awkward, it was uncomfortable. Saito, not wanting the silence to get to that point, prepared to speak, only to be beaten to the punch by Louise herself.

“Can I ask you something?” Louise softly asked, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Yeah, sure. Shoot,” Saito, slightly worried, replied.

“…how bad was I?” Saito blinked his eyes at Louise a few times.

“How bad? What do you mean?”

“The battle? How bad was I?” Louise clarified, irritation starting to build once more.

“Oh, that’s… Honestly, not that bad for a rookie. Better than when I first started, at least.”

“Don’t patronize me!” Louise stomped her foot in annoyance, making Saito raise up his hands in a placating manner.

“I’m not, honestly! You’ve should have seen me when I first started. I was terrible!”

“Of course…” Louise replied, not believing the boy, who awkwardly smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

“But, that isn’t to say I wasn’t helped by your mistakes. For starters, you only used one move. What moves do Brennaraki and Aile know, by any chance?”

“Well…Brennaraki knows Ember and Magic Coat, and Aile knows Tailwind and Peck.”

“Right, there's your problem. You are limiting yourself to only one attack. That may work against Wild Pokémon, who for the most part are untrained. It may even work against inexperienced Trainers. But against observant Trainers and Pokémon, that limitation would quickly get picked up on and exploited for all its worth. You became predictable, almost.”

“Really?”

“But, when you changed things up, and didn’t stick to a pattern, you got some good hits in.”

“Okay, that’s…good at least. Any…advice?”

“Hmm, I would say…increase your move pool. Trainers normally teach their Pokémon about eight moves. Any more than that, and it usually becomes difficult to keep in practice,” Saito advised, his finger outstretched to emphasize his point to an attentive Louise. “I recommend filling those up with a nice balance of different moves, both offensive and defensive.”

“I…see. Thanks for the advice,” Louise thanked Saito, smiling.

“No problem.”

* * *

 

A few hours later, and with the sun the beginning to set, Louise was starting to worry that they would have to turn back before they found Viola. Apparently, Viola’s present location was deep in Santalune Forest. A periodic check from Tanuki confirmed that Viola was staying in one place, but to Louise that was merely a consolation.

“How close are we to Viola?” Louise grumbled, frustrated at their apparent lack of progress.

“I don’t know. Tanuki, think you can manage another look?” Saito asked the canine. Stopping in his tracks, Tanuki took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating on the task at hand, exhaustion slowing him down considerably. “Take your time, buddy. Don’t over exert yourself.”

“How long is this going to take?” Louise was growing more impatient and was now glaring at Saito.

“Well, given the fact that we’ve done this exact same thing twenty times now, Tanuki is tired. It’s going to take a bit,” Saito barked back. “What I don’t get is why you insist on looking for her still. It’s getting late, and it’ll be dark soon. Besides, even if we decided to keep going, it’s not like she’s going anywhere. She hasn’t moved from that spot in hours.” Before Louise could retort, Tanuki opened his eyes, breathing deeply, and pointed to his right. Shortly ahead was a small clearing, with a large tree in its center.

“Finally!” Louise exclaimed, figuring that this is where Viola was staying. She followed the outstretched arm, not noticing Tanuki rapidly begin to pale. “Now I can-” Any words that Louise had were quickly replaced by an “OOF!” as she was suddenly tacked by Saito to the ground behind a bush, with Ronin, Tanuki, and Brennaraki quickly following suit.

“WHAT ARE YOU-!?” Louise began to shout before Saito quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

“Quiet! They’ll hear you!” Saito ordered her in a whisper, clearly terrified. Confused, Louise looked around, only to see the source of his fear hanging from the tree in the clearing’s center. A hive, similar in size to the one she met the Vespiqueen in. As she looked closer, she quickly realized that this was not a Combee hive at all. Instead of swarms of Combee flying about, dozens of Kakunas and Weedles hung around the hive, either lying still or scourging for food. Flying above them, keeping watch, was a large, black and yellow hornet, with two long spikes on its top legs. “Beedrill…”

“Beedrill…” Louise recognized the name. Back at Sycamore’s lab, she researched a few species, including Beedrill, and what she saw terrified her. A hornet a meter tall, with a hostile and territorial disposition that would attack any intruder, they were a far cry from their friendly cousins. With fear quickly rising within her, Louise whisper-shouted to Saito, “Why didn’t Tanuki see them?!”

“He’s not a master of Aura Sight yet, he was so focused on scanning for humans he couldn’t see the Beedrill until it was too late. That and he overexerted himself thanks to you…” Saito glared at Louise, who silently gulped.

“…what do we do?”

“…okay, okay…let me think,” Saito wracked his brain for a plan on how to escape this mess. “Let’s just…quietly crawl our way back until we can make a run for it.”

“Oh, that’s a brilliant plan! Just crawl away!” Louise whispered sarcastically.

“You got a better one?”

“No…” Louise answered, growing silent until a thought suddenly entered her head. “Viola!”

“She’s a Gym Leader, she can handle herself.”

“But we can’t just-!”

“Do you see Viola here!?” Saito hissed at Louise, cutting her off. “I am not debating this with you! We. Are. Leaving!”

Shocked at Saito’s sudden change in personality, Louise could only grumble and nod in agreement. She could see his argument, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Come on, let’s…” Saito began crawling backwards away from the hive before a sudden loud snap sounded off from behind the prone trainers, followed by an even louder crash. Slowly, the two trainers turned their heads to look at the source, only to find a small tree branch, filled with half eaten Sitrus Berries, had snapped off the tree behind them and fallen onto the forest floor. Looking up, they Aile, with half a berry lying at her feet, looking horrified at her mistake from atop the former home of the snapped branch. Apparently, Aile had accidentally knocked loose a tree branch that had already been weakened by the Weedles. Turning back to look at the hive, Saito and Louise’s eyes narrowed as they noticed every single Beedrill, numbering around thirty strong, glaring at the two with hate filled eyes.

“When this is over,” Saito plainly stated, a noticeable sheen of sweat covering his face, “I’m going to kill Aile.”

“Get in line,” Louise agreed as the two quickly jumped to their feet. “Plan?”

“Run like hell,” Saito ordered, making an about face before he was halted in his tracks by the sudden appearance of another Beedrill. This one noticeably larger, and angrier than the others. If he had to guess, this was the Queen, and she was not happy that the two of them had trespassed into her territory.

Ronin, Tanuki, Brennaraki, and Aile cried out and they formed a defensive circle around their trainers, recognizing the danger they were all in.

“Change of plan, we’re fighting our way out!” Saito yelled, tensed in anticipation as they were now surrounded by the angry swarm, their collective buzzing almost drowning out his voice to the point where Louise only just heard hi. “Louise, I need you and Brennaraki to help Ronin cut a path through so we can make a break for it! Tanuki and Aile will get any get any that come too close, got it!”

“Got it!” Louise shouted back, preparing to make the appropriate orders alongside Saito, slightly wondering why the swarm hadn’t attacked yet. Pushing that thought aside and simply chalking it up to the grace of God, Louise opened her mouth to shout her command.

“Em-!/Wat-!” Louise and Saito began to shout before a third voice suddenly interrupted them.

“WAIT, WAIT!” The voice, appearing to be feminine, shouted across the clearing, loud enough to be clearly heard through the buzzing. Running through the swarm itself, the source of the voice made herself known. She was clearly a woman equipped for field work, wearing a white tank top and cyan cargo shorts. Dangling around her chest like a necklace was a large black camera, and around her waist were six collapsed Pokéballs. Standing in front of the two young trainers with her back turned, Louise couldn’t get a good look at her face, but she could tell who the woman is.

“Viola? Viola Pansy?” Louise asked, temporarily forgetting the situation she was in.

“Yes, Ms. Vallière, it’s me! We’ll talk later! Keep your eyes down, they see it as a challenge!” Viola shouted back before turning her attention back to the Queen Beedrill. “It’s okay, they’re with me! They mean you no harm!” Viola attempted to sooth the angry Queen. Judging by the Queen’s posture and glare, the attempt wasn’t quite working out.

Shifting tactics, Viola started again. “In fact, we were just leaving. Right, guys?”

“That’s right! We were just about to leave,” Saito quickly played along, nervously glancing around the swarm that continued to surround them.

“Yes, we are!” Louise, catching onto what Viola and Saito were doing, nervously replied. At this, Viola walked in between the two trainers and wrapped her arms around them, nervously smiling at the Queen Beedrill. After a moment’s hesitation, an eternity for Louise, the Queen cocked her head sharply, ordering a path away from the hive for the group to walk through.

“Thank you for your patience. We won’t bother you again today,” Viola thanked the Queen before quickly moving the two trainers through the open space, their Pokémon following behind them, along with the Queen herself and two Beedrills to escort them out. Once they were far enough away for the Queen to be satisfied, the Beedrill left the trainers to their own devices, a few Weedles left behind to continue foraging for food, causing them all to sigh in relief, before Viola quickly delivered a light chop to the top of Louise and Saito’s heads, making them wince in pain.

“What were you two thinking!?” Viola shouted at Louise and Saito, who were clutching their heads in pain. “Do you have any idea how much danger you two were in!? You could have been killed! Honestly, wandering into a Beedrill hive!”

“We weren’t wandering!” Louise attempted to defend herself. “We were trying to find you! To deliver-!”

“Hey, don’t lump me into this! I was just following you!” Saito interjected, trying to avoid any blame.

“Why you-!”

“You two are both at fault in this!” Viola shouted, halting the argument before it could properly begin, before she sighed and began to calm herself down. “Louise, I know why you are here. Augustine called me a few days ago to tell me you would be arriving into town with a Beedrillite. I’m certain Nurse Joy told you that I would be in the forest, doing my photography work, for a few hours, so why did you two decide to come after me?”

“I-” Louise began trying to explain her admittedly foolish decision before she was interrupted by Saito again.

“Wait, you knew she was at a Beedrill hive!” Saito turned to Louise before a glare from Viola shut him up.

“And you. Don’t think you are not at fault in this. You could have taken her back to Santalune, but instead you _allowed_ this to happen. You are just as much at fault in this as she is.”

“Yes, ma’am…” Saito quietly relented, looking down in shame as he twiddled his fingers, hands clasped together, with his Pokémon mimicking his actions. Ronin was kowtowing.

“Arceus…” Viola sighed, pinching the roof of her nose. “Listen, guys. You can’t just rush into things without knowing what to expect. Had you asked Nurse Joy exactly where I would be, she would have told you that I was with a local Beedrill hive taking photographs. But you didn’t, and got yourself into severe danger because of it. You…I haven’t gotten your name yet. You are?”

“Saito Hiraga, ma’am.”

“Thank you. Saito, you overestimated your and your Pokémon’s abilities and walked both of you right into the hive. Had I not been there…” Viola let the possibility hand over everyone’s head like an axe, causing the two young trainers to pale in realization.

“But…I admire your dedication to seek me out. It says volumes about your characters that you stuck with it. Not all of it good, mind you, but still volumes.”

“I…I’m sorry, Ms. Violette…” Louise meekly apologized.

“Please,” Viola laughed away the tension in the air, “Ms. Violette makes me feel old. Call me Viola, everyone else does. Now, since we’re already here, I believe you have something for me?”

“Oh, uhh, yes!” Louise exclaimed, quickly reaching into her bag. “Where is the stupid-ah, here!” Louise exclaimed as she took hold of the Beedrillite. Taking a step forward, Louise suddenly tripped on an upturned rock she hadn’t noticed before. As she was falling, the Beedrillite slipped out of her hands and flew forward, striking a Weedle in the head. It called out in slight pain as it fell to the ground. Before Louise could apologize, the Queen Beedrill suddenly reappeared, almost as if she had never really left, incensed at the harm her spawn had incurred.

“That was an accident!” Viola exclaimed, placing herself in front of the trainers as she looked back down at the ground. The Queen merely stared at the group before looking down at the shiny stone and sensing a connection with it, picked up the orb.

“What’s she doing?” Saito asked, confused and worried over the Beedrill’s actions.

“All Pokémon capable of Mega-Evolution have an instinctive connection with their appropriate Mega-Stones,” Viola explained in a whisper and pulled out her camera, which Saito and Louise just now noticed had a gem embedded on the shutter button. “Don’t worry. Mega-evolution needs a strong bond between a Pokémon and trainer to work, so right now that Beedrillite—” Viola was suddenly cut off when a bright light emitted from the Mega-Stone in question, along with the Queen Beedrill.

“What the--?!” Saito yelled, shielding his eyes from the bright light. “What’s happening!?”

“It’s Mega Evolving!? How?!” Viola shouted in response, equal parts confused and terrified, as she finally took hold of one of her Pokéballs as a precaution.

As the light died down, they looked upon the Queen Beedrill, only to find she had dramatically changed. If the Beedrill had looked intimidating before, now she looked terrifying. She had rapidly grown even larger than before, her legs now ended in a pair of needle-like stingers while the thorax was also much bulkier, and now sported a much larger stinger on its end. At the same time, her forearms had grown into massive lances. Finally, her eyes, now slicked back, glowed a faint, deep red as it gazed upon them with murder in its eyes.

“Oh…shit…” Saito said plainly. “How did…?” He couldn’t even finish his sentence as more Beedrill entered the area, attracted by the bright light. Upon seeing the state of their queen, and with their tempers already on a hair trigger, they joined her in glaring at the small group, with an angry buzz filling the air. The terrifying element for Louise, however, was just how silent the Mega-Beedrill was in it’s glare.

“Run,” Viola ordered as she stared back at the Mega-Beedrill. Before any of them could react, the Mega-Beedrill violently reared back and charged.

[~][~]


	10. Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito deal with an unexpected Mega-Beedrill and tensions between the two explode. Yet, despite everything that has transpired, the bonds of a great friendship are forged, and Louise decides on how she wants to prove herself: by becoming the Pokemon League Champion.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 2**

* * *

 

Before Louise could even blink, the Mega Beedrill had closed half the distance between them. Like a deer staring at headlights, Louise stood motionless in terror, only to be tackled to the ground by Saito, with the Mega Beedrill shooting overhead like a bullet. Viola had merely conducted an expert dodge roll, at the end of which two Pokéballs were thrown from her hand, releasing giant red and black striped spider and a red insectoid with a metallic exoskeleton, whom immediately engaged the Queen and her bodyguards.  
  
“Louise, we need to move! Now!” Saito yelled, lifting Louise to her feet, only to push her back as Viola's metallic insectoid went flying over their heads, with the Queen very close behind him.  
  
The insectoid quickly righted himself and grabbed two of the Queen's javelins in its claws but quickly lost his grip when a bundle of silk quickly latched onto his arm and wrenched it away, allowing the queen to start hammering him with her larger arm javelins. Seeing the insect struggle, Louise’s eyes narrowed as she finally decided to act.  
  
"Aile, Peck!” Louise shouted as Aile darted down in an attempt to help the insectoid that was getting beaten on by the massive wasp, only for the queen to quickly dart away from the insectoids reach and made a swipe at the tiny bird. On the near miss, Aile paused a moment before attempting to dart away from the battle through the canopy, only to be stopped when the Queen shot a stream of sparking webs at the bird, entangling her in webbing before violently pulling her to the ground.  
  
“Aile!” Louise shouted in a panic as Aile twitched uncontrollably in the electric web. Quickly taking out her ball, Louise attempted to return the downed bird but another strand of silk shot and snagged the ball from her hand. "Hey!" Louise shouted indignantly quickly following the silk to a Weedle that was sitting in the tree above her, glaring down at her.  
  
Defenseless, Aile could only stare in mortal terror as the Queen darted forward, only to be saved by the metallic insectoid pouncing onto the Queen, drawing her attention away from the downed bird. As the Queen struggled to remove the large insect, Louise and Brennaraki quickly rushed out into the clearing. With Brennaraki shooting fireballs at every Weedle and Beedrill that got too close, Louise scooped the cocooned bird into her arms, only to be stopped by the metallic insectoids body being violently thrown at her. Louise and Brennaraki jumped out of the way, only to freeze at the sight of the Queen’s glare directed squarely at them.  
  
Seeing how his allies were in immediate danger, Ronin leapt forward, intending to hit the queen's back with a glowing scalchop, but was quickly swiped out of the air and pinned to a tree by one of the Queen’s arms. Before the queen could stab him, the giant spider from before leapt onto the Queen's back, dragging the queen off the sea otter, then hastily attempted to bind the queen's flailing limbs with silk. These binds lasted for but a moment as the Queen pulled them apart and violently threw a punch at the spider, who merely jumped away and launched a sticky web at the Queen, encasing her in place as she struggled to free herself.  
  
Suddenly, Tanuki dropped down from a tree and delivered a sharp kick to the Queen's head. The only reaction from the Queen, however, was a sharp glare as she shifted her head towards the offending hound. Tanuki, realizing his precarious position, gulped before the Queen freed herself from her bonds. Tanuki could only raise his arms to protect himself as he was violently punched by a stinger and launched into a tree. Striking the tree with an audible crack, he crumpled into a heap, the tree falling over shortly after.  
  
“Tanuki!” Saito screamed as he looked at Tanuki’s struggling form. Before the Queen could attack the downed dog, the metallic insectoid reentered the fray and launched itself at the Queen, latching onto her body and delivering a series of powerful blows to her head in rapid succession. Dazed, the Queen attempted to throw the insect off, only for the insectoid to jump off rather than risk damage, placing itself between the body of Tanuki and the enraged Queen. The two Pokémon stood silently across from one another before launching themselves forward into a clash, delivering mighty, savage blows to each other. From what Louise could tell, from her kneeled form as she struggled to remove the shocked silk cocoon from Aile’s body, while Viola’s Pokémon was strong and highly trained, the brute force of Mega Evolved Queen was slowly wearing it down.  
  
“Aah!” She shrieked as she ducked beneath an exchange of fire and needles going over her head, the battle between the swarm and the rest of their Pokémon still ongoing. The giant spider had webbed up most of the Weedles and Beedrill at this point, keeping them out of the fight, but more continued to pour into the area and they started to turn their attention to the young trainers. Just as Louise managed to free Aile, a Beedrill swooped down at Louise, only to be knocked back by Saito wielding a tree branch like a club.   
“Louise, come on! We need to get out of here!” He yelled, knocking back another Beedrill.  
  
“We can’t just leave her! She needs our help!” Louise retorted, ducking underneath Saito’s swing towards another Beedrill.  
  
“We being here is making things worse for her!” Saito swung at another Beedrill, only for this one’s exoskeleton to suddenly hardened, causing the tree branch to shatter. “Crap…” Saito quickly backed up, placing himself in front of Louise in an attempt to shield her. Before the Beedrill could attack, the spider pounced the hornet, wrestling it to the ground and binding it in a cocoon of silk, while Ronin and Tanuki leapt out of Saito’s backpack, putting themselves in front as a forward guard.  
  
The buzzing in the area grew louder as more Beedrill swarmed in. "What the hell are you two still doing here!? RUN!" Viola shouted as she dodged another Beedrill that attempted to dive-bomb her and releasing another Pokémon, this time some winged, black and yellow beetle with bright red eyes.  
  
"We are not le-UKR" Louise attempted to shout only for Saito to suddenly grab her by her shirt and lifted her up into a bridal carry, quickly starting to haul her flailing form into the forest with Tanuki, Ronin, and Brennaraki hot on their heels. “Put me down this instant you brute!”  
  
Saito, ignoring both Louise’s protests and blows, continued his sprint into the forest, their Pokémon following shortly behind them. Glancing forward, Louise saw Viola touch some kind of gem embedded on her camera when the red insectoid began glowing in a similar way to the Beedrill. She couldn’t get a good look at, but it was obvious even to her that the Pokémon had undergone a Mega Evolution. As the two Mega-Evolved Pokémon raced forward to clash, Saito ran past a thicket of trees and out of sight.

* * *

After running for nearly fifteen minutes, Saito breathed heavily as he continued to run, further and further away from the Beedrill swarm, the Mega Beedrill, Viola, everything in that situation that was putting him and Louise in danger. Louise at this point has ceased her flailing, going uncomfortably quiet. Frankly, for all Saito cared she could stew in her anger. Only when the sounds of battle finally faded, and faint clicks of various insects could still be heard, did he let up, slowing down to a stop and unloading Louise back onto the ground.  
  
“Okay…okay…let me catch my breath…” Saito requested, receiving no response from Louise, whose eyes were covered by shadow. He paid her no heed as he turned to look at the direction they fled from. Seeing how none of the Beedrill had followed them, he sighed in relief. “We… We should be safe now… Are you-?” Any further words were cut off by a sucker punch to the face, courtesy of Louise, shocking him and the Pokémon.  
  
“Gaagh!” Saito grunted in pain, holding his cheek. “What the hell was that for!?”  
  
“You left her,” Louise’s words chilled the air around them.  
  
“What?!”  
  
“You! Left! Her!” Louise was shouting at this point, emphasizing each word with a violent point to him. “You left Viola, alone, to deal with that…that…thing!”  
  
“Of course I did! She told us to run!” Saito shouted back, defending himself. “Or did you not hear that?!”  
  
“Of course I heard her!”  
  
“Then what is your problem?!”  
  
“We should have stayed anyway!” Louise declared, stunning Saito into silence.  
  
“… Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” Saito’s face was now a fiery mixture of exasperation and confusion at the rosette’s declaration. Before she could respond, he continued. “Had we _stayed_ , we would have died! Dead! Do you understand that?!”  
  
“Oh, so leaving Viola behind to die instead is perfectly okay, then, you stupid dog?!” Louise retorted, stomping up to Saito’s face. At this point, the Pokémon were staring wide-eyed at the scene, unsure of how to stop this from escalating further.  
  
“In case you hadn’t noticed, our being there was not helping! Our Pokémon weren’t doing anything to that Mega Beedrill! We were a nuisance to it _at best_! Only Viola’s Pokémon even made a scratch, and even then it was throwing them around like ragdolls!”  
  
“All the more reason to have stayed! She needed our help! Now, without us, she has to worry about that monstrosity and the swarm! We could have at least gotten the swarm off of her!”  
  
“Now with us _gone_ , she can actually devote her complete attention to the Queen and the swarm and not have to worry about two teenagers in way over their heads!” Saito shouted with finality, pausing to see her response. When she didn’t answer, he huffed and turned back around to check on his Pokémon, completely done with Louise’s lunacy.  
  
“… You’re a coward.” Her voice rang out, drenched in venom, stopping Saito dead in his tracks.  
  
“… _What?_ ”  
  
“You’re a coward. Running away is what cowards do. You ran away with your tail between your legs, so that makes you a coward. The honorable thing to do would have been to stand your ground and keep fighting, no matter what!”  
  
“…I don’t know what _cave_ you crawled out of, but what I did was not ‘cowardly’, it was _smart_. Picking battles you know you cannot win, only for you or your Pokémon to get severely injured is not _honorable_ , it’s reckless and damn stupid! The fact that you confuse the two says a lot about how smart you are!”  
  
“Excuse me!” Louise exclaimed, insulted. “I will have you know I received top marks in all of my courses!” He did not need to know that he received failing grades in practical applications.  
  
“Oh really?” Saito sarcastically replied, marching back up to her. “’Received top marks.’ In what? ‘How to Walk Blindly Into a Beedrill Hive Trying to Find a Gym Leader You Could Have Waited For In-Town’ 101? ‘How to Start a Pokémon Journey Completely Unprepared’ 205? ‘How to Live with a Pokémon Professor for Three Weeks and Not Know what the Pokémon League Is’ 300? Are those where you received your top marks, because if so that answers _so many questions!_ ”  
  
“... What _exactly_ are you trying to say.” Louise gritted her teeth at the boy.  
  
“You want to know what I’m trying to say? Okay then, let’s list them off, shall we? From the past few hours that I have known you, you have displayed zero common sense about anything. You insist on battling when the only outcome is getting yourself and your Pokémon hurt due to fighting above your weight class, which tells me you have zero regard for the safety of yourself or others. You don’t know information which is common knowledge to _literally everyone else on the planet!_ ” Saito was shouting again at this point, while Louise was growing more and more enraged with each point he made. “You know what, I change my mind. Even _cavemen_ have displayed more common sense than you do! You are stubborn to a ‘T’, prideful to the point where you can’t admit your mistakes! Do you want me to keep going?!”  
  
“If I am all that, then why did you come along in the first place?!”  
  
“Because I knew that if I didn’t, you’d do something stupid! Looks like I was right!” Saito screamed in her face. “If a trainer can’t keep him or herself and their Pokémon _safe_ , if others get put in danger because of their idiocy, and they can’t admit they were wrong, they have zero right to be a trainer!”  
  
When the words left his mouth, an expression of pure hurt flashed across Louise’s face, only to be replaced by pure, unadulterated rage. Had his emotions not been hot at that moment, Saito might had felt regret. But, in his anger, he felt nothing.  
  
“I want you gone,” Louise demanded, finally fed up with the boy she had spent the last few hours with.  
  
“Staying around you is going to get me killed, anyway,” Saito venomously retorted. The two stayed silently rooted to their positions before turning their backs to the other, Louise kneeling down to apply medicine to her Pokémon. “Come on, guys. We’re leaving.” He ordered to his despondent Pokémon.  
  
“Don’t let the door hit you on your way out,” Louise barked, holding back the tears of hurt from rolling out.  
  
“There are no doors out here, you idi-.” Saito’s insult halted in its tracks as a familiar, terrifying buzzing off in the distance. Slowly, Louise got to her feet, goosebumps forming all around her body, with sweat beginning to form on her brow. A quick glance at Saito confirmed the same thing was happening to him. “Oh, shit…”  
  
“They must have followed the shouting…” Louise paled with this realization. With the buzzing getting louder, Louise quickly tossed Saito two full restores, who immediately applied them to his Pokémon. “Tanuki, how many?” The canine whimpered in response. “How many is that?”  
  
“Too many…” Saito answered. The buzzing was nearly deafening at this point. Saito, picking up another fallen tree branch, backed up until he and Louise were nearly touching. “Listen, whatever our disagreements, none of that matters right now. Focus on keeping them away, and we might walk out of this.”  
  
“Got it,” Louise answered. The buzzing was so loud, she could hardly hear herself. They surrounded at this point, that much she could tell. Large shapes could be seen moving among the trees. By Louise’s rough estimate, there had to be at least fifteen Beedrill. The buzzing grew louder and louder, until it suddenly stopped. In silence, nothing moved, nothing breathed. It was suffocating. The tension was think enough that it could be cut. Saito’s hands, shaking in fear, gripped the branch like a lifeline, Louise’s inched closer and closer to her wand. It was at that moment, the moment when a naïve person would think the danger had passed when the swarm pounced.  
  
Suddenly, the air was filled with large, angry, black and yellow hornets, firing a seemingly endless cascade of needles at the trainers and their Pokémon. Diving away from the needles, the counterattack was swift. No orders needed to be given, as they all knew there was no time to do so.  
  
Aile immediately created a tailwind, speeding up her movements, and proceeded to launch into a series of swoops, pecking any Beedrill in her path. Brennaraki’s familiar fireballs shot out in rapid succession, firing wildly into the swarm. Some hit, with scorched Beedrill falling to the ground in a heap. Others merely were singed as the fireballs were dodged. At the same time, Ronin alternated between firing jets and water and sending swipes of compressed air towards the swarm. While not as effective as the fire, his attacks were more accurate, hitting more targets than were missed. Tanuki himself acted as a bodyguard. Any Beedrill that close was quickly besieged by a combination of glowing punches and feet, with rapid movements between targets as he moved in a blur among different Beedrill.  
  
“Duck!” Saito shouted as he swung his branch at a Beedrill near Louise’s head. Somehow, it had managed to get past the defenses their Pokémon had set up and set its sights on Louise, who immediately ducked upon hearing Saito’s warning, allowing him to whack the Beedrill to the ground. As Louise picked herself up, she spotted Saito swing his branch at another Beedrill, knocking it back. But, with each swing, with each Beedrill knocked down, two more seemed to take its place, and as Louise looked upon the state of their Pokémon, she could see them begin to tire, their movements growing increasingly sluggish, their attacks hitting less and less. Saito, too, with every swing, was growing more and more tired. When Louise finally spotted Aile, the small bird was no longer trying to attack, but merely trying to retreat, weaving between fired needles, punches, and web strings fired from all the various Beedrill she had previously harassed. To Louise’s comfort, she was able to successfully do so, until the wind behind her died down. Slowed, Aile was unable to dodge a punch from a Beedrill, sending the bird crashing into the ground.  
  
“Aile!” Louise shouted in alarm, racing over to the downed bird. A Beedrill swooped down in an attempt to punch her with one of its stingers, only for Saito to shoulder check it to the ground and swing his branch at another Beedrill that had joined the fray. Continuing on, Louise slid to Aile on her knees, gently picking her up while reaching into her bag for a full restore.  
  
“It’s going to be okay, Aile,” Louise soothed the bird as she applied the medicine. Opening her eyes, Aile saw Louise’s looking down at her, smiling once she saw Aile was okay. As Aile opened her eyes, the birds’ eyes widened and she quickly escaped from Louise’s hands, becoming a blur as she tackled a Beedrill that had sneaked up behind Louise out of the air, sending it sprawling onto the ground.  
  
“Was that…?”  
  
“Aile just used Quick Attack, Louise!” Saito shouted over the swarm, continuing to fend off any Beedrill that got too close to the group. Reveling in her newfound move, Aile began to rapidly attack members of the swarm in quick succession. The small bird was a blur as she raced between Beedrill after Beedrill, focusing on the ones that got too close to Louise. Even then, it wasn’t enough, as the swarm seemed to just keep increasing in number and in strength.  
  
At the same, Brennaraki refused to stop firing the small fireballs towards the swarm. But, with each fireball shot out, the power of each one grew increasingly weaker until finally, she exhausted her flame. The only sign of fire that came out of her mouth was smoke. Resorting to simple fangs and claws, Brennaraki fought on, both for her sake but also for her trainer, only to see yet another Beedrill swoop down at Louise. With Aile focusing on another Beedrill, and Ronin and Tanuki concentrating on keeping Saito secure, no one was able to protect Louise, who screamed as the Beedrill neared. Desperation filled Brennaraki as she tried to fire off one last fireball. Instead of smoke and fire, a purple sheen-filled her eyes as a wave of energy flew out, striking the Beedrill directly and making it crumble. Recognizing that she had learned a new move, Brennaraki began repeating the purple wave over and over, keeping the Beedrill at bay.  
  
“That’s a Psychic-type move!” she recognized, albeit not knowing the name of the move itself. Saito moved to name the move as Psywave, which only served to distract him from a trio of Beedrill blindsiding him and his Pokémon. Ronin and Tanuki were knocked away, forced into a close quarter’s melee with their respective Beedrill, while Saito swung his tree branch at his Beedrill. As he swung the branch, the Beedrill simply buried one of its stingers into it, wedging the stick in place before directing a punch to his chest. Hastily, Saito jumped out of the way, but was given a shallow cut on his arm by the poison-tipped stinger.

  
“Gaagh!” Saito screamed as he felt the poison began to spread through his body.  
  
“Saito!” Louise screamed out. Seeing him vulnerable, the Swarm quickly abandoned their original targets and raced towards his downed form, as he and his Pokémon struggled to get him to his feet, fearful looks etched on their faces. Reacting, Louise pulled out her wand and did what she should have done when this first started. “Fireball!”  
  
All of a sudden, and to the shock of everyone present, especially Saito, his Pokémon, and the Beedrill, a large explosion rang out in the center of the oncoming swarm, sending heaps of scorched Beedrill onto the ground. All eyes were directed to her as they gazed upon Louise holding her wand, pointed right at the swarm.  
  
“What the hell…?” Saito gasped at the sight, alarmed and confused at the display of power the rosette just displayed. The swarm was just as confused, as they temporarily retreated to regroup. Seeing a momentary pause in the fighting, Louise ran over to him and began reaching into her bag, pulling out an Antidote before grunting and putting it back. Sycamore had told her that Antidotes don’t work on people, so she pulled out some anti-venom instead.  
  
“How did you…?” Saito began, confused beyond all belief before Louise interrupted him.  
  
“Not here. I’ll answer whatever questions you have back in Santalune, but not here. I’d…rather not be in this Founder forsaken forest any longer. Deal?” She softly asked, her previous anger at him gone and replaced with concern and regret over how her actions led to this.  
  
Saito was silent before he responded. “… No argument here,” He grunted out. He hissed in slight pain at the sting of the antidote before sighing in relief as the medicine began to take hold. As he shakily stood up, the sounds of the swarm began picking up again. They would be here soon. “We…need to…get out…of here…”   
  
“Agreed,” Louise replied, only to see Saito begin to wobble. “Saito!” Louise gasped as he began to tip over, catching him before he could fall to the ground. A quick glance at the wound told her that the anti-venom wasn’t quite working as intended, and he need medical attention soon. A fact soon emphasized by the affected area turning purple.  
  
“Well…that’s not good…,” he groggily stated. “You…can do more…of that…explosion thing….right?”  
  
“Yes, yes I can.” Louise readied her wand, point it at the forest.  
  
“Good… I think we’re going to need it…” Saito's head was drooping at this point, and having lost all feeling in his arm. “By the way…if we make it through this…I’m gonna need…some…explan-…” Saito, struggled to say, groggy from the poison.  
  
“Saito? Saito!?” Louise cried out before the buzzing once again picked up. As the first Beedrill showed itself, Louise aimed her wand. “Fireba-!” Before she could finish her chant, a string of web shot out, impacting her wand and throwing her out of her grasp. “No…”  
  
Seeing how she was defenseless, the swarm pounced. Her and Saito’s Pokémon immediately placed themselves in front of her, firing off compressed air, fireballs, jets of water, and psychic waves, while also hitting with flaming feet and fast pecks. Louise, unable to directly assist, crouched down, shielding Saito with her own body. The swarm, however, simply barreled past the attacks. Just as they reached the group, just as they were about to make contact, a large red blur shot out and impacted the heart of the swarm, breaking them apart.  
  
“Eh?!” Louise gasped as she looked at her savior. It was the metallic insectoid from before, but it was different. She assumed this was its Mega Evolution. It was more muscular, more heavily armored. Its feet more pointed than before, its head spikier. The small, crab like pincers from before had morphed into something more akin to jaws. It hovered in place, standing between her and the swarm, before it suddenly _vanished_ in a blur. With blinding speed, the insectoid began to demolish the swarm. Any Beedrill that got close was immediately clobbered. Any that tried to escape was webbed up by the prompt arrival of the giant spider. Faced with overwhelming odds, the swarm finally retreated fully. As the sounds the swarm grew fainter and fainter, the forest went quiet, until the only sign of their appearance was the fallen bodies of their kin.  
  
“Ms. Vallière? Saito?” The voice called out. Relief filled Louise as she recognized Viola’s voice.  
  
“Viola! Over here! Help me with him!” Louise called out. Shortly after, she saw Viola rush into view, worry etched onto her face that multiplied when she saw the state Saito was in, a worry that amplified when Saito groaned in pain.  
  
“What happened to him!?”  
  
“He got stung by a Beedrill! I already applied anti-venom, but he’s not looking well!” Louise answered as Viola helped hoist Saito by his other shoulder.  
  
“Shit! He must have gotten stung by the stinger! If he doesn’t get medical attention soon… Scizor!” So that’s what the insectoids name was! “Take Saito with you back into town! Get him to the Pokémon Center!” The Scizor clicked in affirmation before gently picking the unconscious boy up, only to speed out of sight and into the forest towards town.  
  
“Ariados, take Ninjask and make sure that swarm doesn’t come back!” The spider, which Louise assumed to be this Ariados, clicked before running off into the forest. The yellow and brown beetle, a Ninjask apparently, sped off after it. A silence descended over the forest before Louise fell to her knees in exhaustion.  
  
“Viola… I’m so-”  
  
“Its fine, Louise. I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Viola tersely interrupted the rosette.  
  
“… The Queen?” Louise asked, curious as to how the battle went.  
  
“Right here,” Viola pointed to a sixth Pokéball on her belt, a little regretful. That was the only answer Louise needed as she silently turned her head to look forward. Viola sighed and helped Louise up to her feet, and they began silently walking. Soon enough, Santalune City could finally be seen, and as they walked into the Pokémon Center, transferred the Pokémon to the doctors and nurses, and checked up on Saito, nothing but regret filled Louise.

* * *

Several hours later, well past the time everyone else was asleep, Louise stood awake in contemplation. The Pokémon Center, at Viola’s suggestion, had given her a spare room to sleep in for the night, complete with a small TV. Louise paid it no heed as she stood on the room’s balcony overlooking the city, a cup of steaming hot cocoa, her fifth of the night, still in hand. As she moved to take a sip, a knock on the door shook her out of her stupor. Placing the cup down and readying herself for the conversation she knew she was about to have, she slowly opened the door to see the waiting form of Saito, his left arm wrapped in a bandage where he was stung. The two stood there in awkward silence.  
  
“So…,” Saito began.  
  
“Yeah…” Louise responded, her eyes glancing at his arm. “Do you…want to come in?”  
  
“That would… That would be great, yes,” Saito affirmed, awkwardly. Louise opened the door, granting him entry, before carefully closing it shut. The two teenagers stood there, unsure of what to do before Louise decided to make an attempt and reducing the awkwardness.  
  
“I… Do you want something to drink? I have some hot cocoa left over,” She asked, pointing to a nearby pot.  
  
“That…sounds perfect, actually. Thank you,” Saito replied. Louise nodded then walked over to pour him a cup, while he moved to sit on one of the chairs on the balcony. He nodded in thanks when she walked back over to him, two cups in hand, and gave him one, sitting opposite of him on the table. Talking a sip, Saito swallowed. “This is pretty good.”  
  
“Professor Sycamore’s is better, in my opinion. This is too…”  
  
“Watery?”  
  
“That’s the word. Yeah…” At this, an uncomfortable silence enveloped the two as they looked at each other, unsure of how to start the actual reason why they were there.  
  
“… I’m sorry,” Louise finally spoke in a near whisper.  
  
“You’re sorry?” Saito replied, a little confused. “For what?”  
  
“For everything that happened!” Louise yelled out. “For insulting you, for getting us into that Beedrill hive, for you getting stung, for…!” Louise began to ramble, half a day’s worth of regret coming to the forefront, only to be stopped by Saito.  
  
“Louise, Louise! It’s okay! It’s fine!” He reassured her, halting her in her tracks. “I wanted to say I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, it was uncalled for, and it only made the situation worse,” At his reassurance, another silence filled the air.  
  
“… You were right. About me wanting to stay to help Viola. If we had…” The resolution to that chain of events went unsaid. “… But you’re not here to hear about how you were right and I was wrong, are you?”  
  
“… No, I’m not,” He affirmed in a serious tone, setting his complete cup down. Louise sighed in resignation before straightening herself.  
  
“Ask away.”  
  
“How did you do that? Those explosions. It wasn’t natural and it certainly wasn’t a Pokémon attack, so what was it?”  
  
Louise sighed deeply. “That…was my magic.”  
  
“… Magic? You mean honest to Arceus magic? Hocus Pocus and all that?” Saito was slightly skeptical, she could tell, but pressed on.  
  
“Yes, magic. My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Where I come from…magic is commonplace.”  
  
“I’m…going to need a bit more of an explanation than just that,” Saito asked, clearly confused. And so, Louise began to explain. She explained the magic system, the world she was from, the country she was from. Each answer she provided prompted more questions from Saito, each one she answered dutifully to the best of her knowledge. After an hour of questioning, Saito, having run out of questions to ask, stood up, overlooking the city.  
  
“So, let me get this straight. You’re telling me that when you entered Kalos three weeks ago, it was not from another region or some backwards village somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but rather from another world entirely?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“In that world, Pokémon are… _nonexistent?_ ” Louise could tell Saito was struggling to even comprehend that, something she was familiar with as well. “But magic is commonplace and those who can do magic rule over the ones who can’t in a feudalistic society as the ‘nobility’. You yourself are one of these ‘nobles’, who was attending an academy meant to teach its students how to use magic.  
  
“That is correct.”  
  
“You excelled at theoretical aspects of magic, but when it came to practical applications, they all blew up in your face, literally.”

  
“…yeah,” Louise forlornly affirmed. Seeing how this was a sore subject for her, Saito moved on.  
  
“And when you attempted to summon a familiar, Arceus himself intercepted the attempts and eventually reversed the spell and pulled you into the Hall of Origin, where He interrogated you and revealed that the reason why your spells blew up is that you have the long lost ‘Void’ affinity.” Disbelief started entering Saito’s voice here.  
  
“… Yes.”  
  
“… In the end, you…tried to blow Him up, and insulted Him, issued Him a challenge that He took you up on, sending you to Lumiose, where you were found by Professor Sycamore. And you’ve already told me the rest. Did I leave anything out?”  
  
“… No actually. You pretty much got it,” Louise affirmed. An awkward silence filled the air once more. “You don’t believe me, do you?”  
  
“I’m still trying to decide if you are lying to me,” Saito admitted. “And if you are, then it is the most detailed and cohesive lie I have ever heard, and if you aren’t, then whether it’s the product of a completely _insane_ mind, or the product of a psychic tampering _with_ your mind.”  
  
“Oh…”  
  
“If it helps, I’m leaning more towards psychic tampering.”  
  
“Oh, gee. Thanks. That makes me feel _so_ much better,” Louise sarcastically responded.  
  
“Not for the entire thing,” Saito admitted. Seeing Louise’s confused face, he continued. “Look, it’s obvious you can do magic. You made those explosions, and unless you’re a Zorua or Zoroark in disguise, which I highly doubt, that tells me that some part of your story is true. You hardly know _anything_ about subjects that is very much common knowledge here, a fact we are _more_ than acquainted with, but coming from another world without Pokémon? And meeting Arceus in person, it’s…”  
  
“It’s too outlandish,” Louise finished for him, dejected.  
  
“Exactly,” Saito agreed. Seeing the dejected look on her face, he sighed and sat back down. “Look, I don’t know what to believe. But I don’t think you’re insane. It’s just… I need a little bit more hard proof, that’s all.”  
  
“No, I… I understand fully…. What do you believe, then?”  
  
“… I honestly don’t know. I think the more important question is: What are you going to do now? You said that you had a year to ‘prove yourself’, whatever that means. I take it that you aren’t just going to sit in Sycamore’s lab as his assistant.”  
  
“No, no I am not,” Louise affirmed, standing up. “You may not believe it, but Arceus told me that I was unworthy of having a Familiar. A living, breathing proof of my status as a mage, and he told me that if I prove myself, I can get one. I intend to prove that talking goat _wrong_.”  
  
“Okay, that I understand…kinda. How?”  
  
“I’m going to become Champion.” Louise declared with finality. “I’ve already notified Sycamore of my plans and issued a challenge to Viola. The battle is in the morning.” At this, Saito, cup halfway to his face, stared at Louise, displaying a look of sheer determination and confidence he had not expected of her. As he sat his cup back down, he only had one thing to say.  
  
“…Huh.”

[~][~]


	11. Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise challenges Viola for her first Gym Badge, only to discover that battling a Gym Leader is much harder than she originally anticipated.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 1**

* * *

 

Louise could hardly sleep that night, both from the harrowing events in the forest and in anticipation of the coming battle, her first steps towards ‘proving her worth’. She eventually did, only to wake up a few hours later, an hour before her battle with Viola was set to begin. Groggy, and realizing that there was no reason to go back to sleep, she made her way out to the lobby, laid out food for Aile and Brennaraki, made a cup of hot cocoa and opened the internet function on her Pokédex.

“Okay…” Louise yawned and took a sip from her cup. “Let’s see here… As I thought, Viola specializes in Bug-types. That’s good for us, right girls?” Louise looked down to her two Pokémon, who just now had finished their food and were looking up at her in anticipation, even Aile. Smiling back, Louise continued to read. At this point, she heard the doors open behind her, but she paid them no heed.

“It looks like…the Pokémon she had yesterday was her _field_ team. She has specialized teams that she uses for people depending on the amount of Gym Badges she has, just like the rest of the Gym Leaders, apparently,” Bringing her hand to her chin, she began to think before turning her attention to her two Pokémon and smiled. “You know, I think we got this.”

“Please tell me that was just the medicine I’m on and I did not just hear you say that,” a voice sounded from across the room. Recognizing its owner, Louise sharply turned to see Saito, staring at her with a blank look on his face, a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Well…I should,” Louise replied with confidence. “I have all the advantages this time. The team she’ll be using is much weaker than what she used yesterday, I won’t have to worry about a swarm of Beedrill trying to kill me, and both of my Pokémon are super effective against Bug-types, not to mention I’m more prepared this time. This will be easy. By the way, how’s the arm?”

“It’s still numb where the stinger hit, but it’s getting better. Let’s get back to you for a minute,” Saito started, setting his cup down on the counter then taking a seat in front of Louise. “Yes, all of that is true, but you are forgetting a few crucial details. For starters, I highly doubt that you or your Pokémon are fully recovered from yesterday. How much sleep did you get last night? I can see bags under your eyes.”

“About,” Louise yawned again, forcing her to take another sip, only to find her cup empty, “four hours, I think… Don’t give me that look, I’m fine!”

“Right… Second, and most importantly, Viola is a _Gym Leader_. As in, this is her job, she knows what she is doing. She is much more experienced than either of us, especially you. It’s alright to be confident but going in right now is a recipe for disaster. You are not ready.”

“Oh, so _you_ can do the Gym Challenge, but I can’t?” Louise accused, pointedly staring at an exasperated Saito.

“That’s not what I’m… Listen, I’m not saying you can’t battle her. All I’m saying is that you need more time to prepare. Ask her to reschedule for another day, recover, get some sleep, _practice_ some more, and then challenge her.”

“I’ll be fine,” Louise stubbornly insisted, getting up out of her seat. “Now, if you excuse me, I have a badge to win.” With that, Louise threw her disposable cup in the trash, returned Aile and Brennaraki to their Luxury Balls, and left the Pokémon Center, leaving a dumbfounded Saito behind.

“…Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” He sighed before quickly downing his coffee and followed her out the door. He couldn’t leave the city, so he might as well watch the ‘champion’ in action.

* * *

 

“You know, these are actually pretty good,” Saito observed, gazing upon a framed photograph of a flock of Starlys in flight. “I mean, I knew Viola was a photographer, but…”

“Didn’t expect her to be this good, either,” Louise concluded, looking at a separate framed photograph, this one depicting a Butterfree caring for its young. “Any last-minute advice?”

“Besides asking to reschedule?”

“Besides that!”

“Hmm,” Saito hummed in mild amusement. “Don’t rely purely on type advantage. Good trainers, like Viola, know how to get around that. You start thinking that Type means everything, and you have already lost.”

“But Type advantage _does_ give me a massive advantage here, you can’t deny that.”

“I’m saying that-” Saito couldn’t finish his sentence as the doors to the arena suddenly opened. “… Looks like you’re being called up.”

“Indeed,” Louise started walking forward, her head held high.

“Remember what I said!” Saito called out to her retreating form, only to have her belatedly wave back as the doors closed. He sighed, and as the doors to the spectator section opened, he made his way to the stands, mildly observing the greenhouse that the field was in, filled with a wide variety of Bug Pokémon. It was honestly quite beautiful, but his mind was elsewhere. Mainly on the two people already present on the field, listening to the referee. As he sat down, their voices finally reached him.

“Now, Ms. Valliere,” The referee began, “As this is your first Gym Battle, I will go over the rules to follow. These rules are standard across all Kalos League Gyms. This will be a Single Battle, as in both the challenger and the Gym Leader will send out one Pokémon at a time. As you currently possess two Pokémon, Viola will also only use two Pokémon. As the challenger, you reserve the right to switch Pokémon while Viola, as the Gym Leader, cannot. Viola will also send out her Pokémon first. These battles will be decided by knockout. Gym Leaders can enact specialized rules; however, Viola has declined to do so. Should you win, you will also be required to pass a practical test before earning the badge. Any questions?”

“No, sir,” Louise answered with confidence, her hand reaching down to grab a Luxury Ball, with Viola echoing the movement.

“Ms. Vallière, despite how we met, I wish you the best of luck,” Viola spoke up in encouragement. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you now.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Louise replied, brimming with confidence, causing Viola to smirk.

“Well then, let’s begin. Go, Surskit!” Viola called out, releasing a round, blue, four-legged spider with a single yellow antenna. Quickly, Louise pulled out her Pokédex and activated the scan function.

“ _Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. By secreting oil from its feet, Surskits are capable of skating around on the_ water _. Its antennae secrete a syrup that both acts as a defense mechanism and attracts prey.”_

_‘So, a Bug/Water-type…’_ Louise thought as she planned her next move. ‘ _Bug is weak to Fire, but Water is strong against Fire, so Brennaraki’s advantage would get negated. Then again…’_ Louise quick snapped forward with her mind made.

“Let’s go, Brennaraki!” Throwing the ball into the air, it opened to unleash the fire fox held within, who let out a yelp in anticipation.

“Dammit, Louise,” Saito, sitting from the stands, whispered, in his eyes seeing her chances diminish by the second. Louise, on the other hand, was full of confidence and immediately began to issue orders.

“Brennaraki, let’s start this off with a Psywave!” Louise ordered. A purple glow soon enveloped Brennaraki before launching a wave of psychic energy out towards the blue spider.

“Jump!” Viola yelled out, with Surskit immediately complied as it nimbly jumped over the psychic wave. “Follow up with Bubblebeam!” As Surskit continued its descent, it let out a large stream of bubbles from its mouth, right towards Brennaraki.

“Dodge it!” Brennaraki sharply jumped to the side at Louise’s order, with the stream of bubbles going wide. “Ember!” In retaliation, the fire fox lets off a fireball, and as it zoomed towards the spider, it fired another stream of bubbles _at_ the fireball, stopping it dead and creating a small cloud of steam, obscuring Louise’s vision.

“Where is it?” Louise’s eyes darted around the arena, trying to make out the Surskit, but the steam made that nearly impossible. Finally, the steam began to dissipate, revealing the Surskit once again. Who was currently charging up an attack, which fired as soon as the obscuring steam was gone.

“Move!” Brennaraki barely had time to react before a large beam shot impacted the ground where she previously stood, creating a large sheet of ice that began to quickly spread outward from the point of impact. More beams of ice shot out towards Brennaraki, who desperately hopped about to dodge the streams.

“Wait a second…” Louise squinted her eyes as she noticed a pattern set by the Surskit, before gasping in realization. “It’s missing on purpose!” Louise shouted out, causing Brennaraki’s eyes to widen as well as she dodged another beam of ice, only to slip on the arena floor, now covered in a solid sheet of ice.

“I was wondering when you were going to catch that,” Viola called out. “How well can your starter fight when it can’t even stand?”

“Grrh,” Louise growled, continuing to watch Brennaraki struggle to remain upright on the ice sheet, before sighing in resignation and pulling out a Luxury Ball. “Brennaraki, return,” Louise was quiet as the red beam shot out and absorbed the Fennekin back into her ball. Beads of sweat began to form on her brow, the battle was not going exactly as planned but she wasn't about to give up and readied another Luxury Ball.

“Go, Aile! Start off with Tailwind!” With a shout, Louise threw the ball out onto the arena, releasing Aile, who safely flew above the sheet of ice, flapping her wings to create the much-needed speed boost. “Quick Attack!” Disappearing in a blinding burst of speed, Aile dive-bombed the Surskit.

“Ice Beam!” Viola retaliated, with Surskit launching a beam of ice towards the speeding bird, who narrowly barrel rolled out of its path, swooping upwards to avoid crashing to the ground. The beam struck the ceiling, creating small series of icicles that hung precariously.

“What are you planning…” Louise muttered, eyeing the icicles with apprehension, before shaking it off. “Aile, Peck!” At her order, Aile once again swooped down, aiming to strike at the insect, only for it to skate around to her back and fired another Ice Beam, forcing the bird to once again roll out of the way, only this time the tip of her wing was grazed. Aile cried out in slight pain and spiraled downward but managed to reorient herself before she crashed into the ground, although she was noticeably lower to the ground this time.

“Damn it,” Louise grunted, only to fall silent as she gazed back up to the ceiling. Now, it was completely covered in icicles, and when she looked back down at Viola, confused, the Gym Leader smirked, causing the rosette to go wide-eyed. “Aile, look-!”

“Signal Beam on the ceiling!” As soon as Viola made the order, a purple beam shot out, striking the ceiling dead center. The icicles forebodingly shook, freezing Louise and Aile in place, before a loud crack appeared at the point of impact. The crack quickly spread outward, each movement sending a screeching noise that filled the air.

“Aile, move!” Louise ordered, hoping to avoid what was soon to occur, but before Aile had a chance to move, the icicles, cracked loose from their roots, began to cascade downward in a makeshift hail, slamming into Aile repeatedly. The tiny bird cried out in pain and attempted to maneuver herself out of the sudden hail, only to be intercepted by a sticky glob of webbing, binding her to the ground. Unable to defend herself properly or move out the way, Louise and Aile could only watch as the Surskit launched a heavy stream of bubbles at the helpless bird, the intensity high enough to create a small screen that once again obscured her vision. As it dissipated, Louise only saw the prone form of Aile, clearly out of action.

“Aile is unable to battle! Surskit is the winner!” The referee ruled. Silent, Louise returned Aile to her Luxury Ball and threw Brennaraki back out onto the field, who immediately slipped on a patch of ice.

“Alright, Brennaraki, it’s all up to you!” Louise cheered, attempting to reassure both her starter, and herself, that they could still win. “Use Ember!” With the order given, Brennaraki once again fired off a small fireball, the recoil sending her slightly backward on the ice. The Surskit, much more used to this environment, was able to easily bypass it, and as the fireball impacted harmlessly against the back wall, the Surskit fired off another stream of bubbles. Brennaraki jumped over the stream, only to once again fall straight down upon landing.

“No, no, no!” Louise began to panic at the sight of her starter’s predicament. Brennaraki continued to try and stand, only to get blasted by a stream of bubbles for her trouble, knocking her back. Rather than stay down, Brennaraki again tried to stand upright before another blast of bubbles sent her reeling. This time, the Surskit did not let up, and fired off stream after stream of bubbles, refusing to let up and creating a large smokescreen that dwarfed the previous one. Finally, the stream of bubbles ceased, and silence descended over the arena.

“… Brennaraki?” Louise whispered, unable to see the outcome of the bubble barrage. With bated breath, she waited as the smoke began to dissipate, only to gasp as she spotted the prone and unmoving form of her starter. Louise was tempted to run out onto the field, but was unable to bring herself to do only, only capable of silently returning Brennaraki into her ball before tightly clutching it to her chest.

“Oh no…” Saito whispered to himself, unable to take his eyes away from the sight.

“Brennaraki is unable to battle! Gym Leader Viola has won the battle!” With that, it was official. Louise’s first Gym battle, the first chance to prove herself, and she had failed miserably.

* * *

 

As Louise sulked in the Pokémon center waiting for news regarding her Pokémon, she could only dwell on how the battle had turned out. Viola, after the battle was over, had immediately set off for the forest again. Apparently, she had to check in on the nest to make sure they weren't on a rampage without there queen. But, Louise couldn’t bring herself to focus on just how _awful_ her performance was. It was a complete disaster, from start to finish, and she only had herself to blame. Only now, her Pokémon paid the price.

“Founder, I’m an idiot,” she told herself.

“No, you’re not, just inexperienced,” a voice corrected her, making her jump upward and look towards the source. Not unexpectantly, it was Saito, carrying two cups of a steaming liquid, one offered to her. “I know how much you like hot cocoa, so…here.” Taking the offered cup, Louise began to gulp it down, letting it soothe her.

“That…was disastrous.”

“That's one way to put it,” Saito agreed, sitting down next to her. Seeing how that only seemed to make things worse, Saito sighed. “Can I tell you something?”

“…Sure, go right ahead.”

“It took me two tries to get my first badge,” Seeing her confused expression, Saito continued. “I know you may think that I’m some super experienced trainer, but the truth is my first attempt at a gym badge was even worse than the showing that you just had. Heh, I went in with literally just Ronin, thinking that “Oh, the Gym is just Normal-Type, this will be easy”. I lasted thirty seconds, if that. The only reason why I won the second time is that Tanuki was just that good… Which now that I think about it goes against my previous advice…”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I wanted to let you know that losing is to be expected, especially at this stage. That’s how we learn, become better. You lost now, horribly in fact. But next time, if you take this loss to heart and learn from it, you’ll get stronger, get better, everything,” Saito, finishing up his spiel, placed his hand on Louise’s shoulder to comfort her. Louise looked at him before smiling in agreement and, finishing up her cup, stood up in defiance.

“You’re right. I will get better. Viola may have beaten me this time, but next will be different. I know what to expect now, and next time, I’ll be ready for whatever tricks she throws at me.”

“That’s the spirit,” Saito smiled at Louise before standing up as well. “Well, it’s been…interesting, but it's been nice meeting you, Louise. Good luck in your- “

“Wait,” Louise interrupted Saito, halting him in his tracks. Curiously, she looked almost…embarrassed, shifting her eyes around and poking her fingers together. “Can I…ask you something?”

“Um, yeah. Sure,” Saito was unsure of what Louise was about to ask, but it was obviously something that she was slow to admit.

“…I want you to help me…” Saito could barely hear her whisper.

“I’m sorry?”

“I want you to help me!” Louise almost shouted now, drawing everyone’s attention in the Pokémon center and sending Saito into a state of silence.

“…why?” Saito could only bring himself to ask that question.

“Because, compared to me, you know what you are doing. If I’m going to get back home, I need to get stronger, and with your help…” Louise trailed off, evidently embarrassed by the request. Saito almost moved to say that this wasn’t his problem, but one look at her face and the desperation that filled it, only made him sigh in resignation.

“Fine, I’ll help,” he agreed, rubbing his hair with his hand.

“Really!” Louise’s face lit up at Saito’s acceptance only to be quickly suppressed with a cough. Regaining her composure, Louise returned to a prim and proper stance. “Well, of course. Now, I suggest we- “

“Uh-uh,” Saito interrupted, catching Louise off guard. “We do this, we do it my way, got it? None of this bossing each other around, we are going to train together as equals. Agreed?”

“…okay,” Louise relented, knowing that she needed his help and not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Good. Now, where to train… Ah, I know. Route 22, it’s just outside the city limits. There’s a lot of good wild Pokémon for us to train against and it's closer than Santalune Forest. Besides, I think Viola would rather not bail our asses out two times in one week,” Saito chuckled to himself, bringing a slight smile to Louise’s face.

“No argument here,” Louise nodded in agreement, wishing to avoid that forest like the plague.

“Okay, so we’ll set off tomorrow,” Louise moved to protest such a late departure, but Saito quickly cut her off. “You and your Pokémon need to recover, both from yesterday and today. _I_ am not yet cleared to leave the city, but I will be tomorrow. We’ll go early in the morning, train all day, and the day after tomorrow you can battle Viola again. Deal?” At this, Saito extended his hand out to Louise, who was contemplating his terms, before nodding in acceptance and grasping his hand with her own.

[~][~]


	12. Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito head to Route 22 to train, where Louise attempts to learn from her past mistakes.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 2**

* * *

 

As the sun rose over Santalune, Saito remained peacefully asleep, the stress of the past few days gone, only to be woken up by the sounds of loud banging on his door. Groggily, he got out of bed and opened the door, revealing a fully prepared Louise, with an impatient look on her face.

“Well?” She began, her hands placed on her hips and tapping her feet. Saito stole a glance to the clock in his room, reading a bright red ‘Six A.M.’ on its face.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? Saito asked, tired and annoyed at being woken up at this time.

“Six A.M.”

“… Why are you up at six in the morning? Why are you getting _me_ at six in the morning?”

“You said you were going to train me today, so I got you up.” Louise answered matter-of-factly, as if it was his fault that he didn’t have her sleep schedule. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I didn’t say I was going to train you at the crack of dawn!”

“Why not?” At this, Saito stopped, unable to form words at how sincere she sounded.

“… You know what, you’re right. Why not, indeed.”

“Thank you,” Louise had a smug look on her face. “I thought the same way.”

“In fact, let’s start now.” Saito had a look on his face, one that Louise couldn’t quite place, but she paid it no heed.

“Really!?”

“Yep,” Saito smacked with emphasis. With Louise looking into his eyes in expectation, he continued. “First lesson: Patience is a virtue.” And with that, he closed the door, Louise’s face turning from expectation, to surprise, to finally anger.

“Saito! Saito, open this door, right now!” Louise banged on the door.

“People are asleep, Louise. Go back to bed, wait in the lobby, I don’t care. We’ll leave in two hours, _after_ I get some more sleep, take a shower, and have breakfast.” Saito’s voice was more muffled, as if he had already gotten back into bed. Before she could angrily respond further, Saito’s muffled voice rang out again. “Besides, I _am_ training you. After all, isn’t being impatient what got you into this mess in the first place?”

“… Grrk!” Louise grunted and stomped off to the lobby, unable to form a proper counter argument. “Stupid Saito…”

* * *

 

As promised, and after a longer than usual shower and hearty breakfast, much to Louise’s growing irritation and Saito’s amusement, the two made their way to Détourner Way. Anticipating that the training might take all day, Saito had suggested, to Louise’s initial protests, to bring their full gear, a suggestion to which she ultimately relented. This, however, led to a separate issue.

“Why do you have that much stuff?” Saito asked to Louise, currently collapsed against a tree.

“I…was stupid…” Louise panted through heavy breaths.

“Yeah, I figured, but _why_? How, even? That stuff must have cost a fortune,” Saito responded with a blank stare, to which Louise could only sigh.

“Remember that woman who broke into Sycamore’s lab?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Her family was rich.”

“… Oh… But why did—"

“I was stupid and assumed it would be better to get all this stuff _then_ rather than later, and the PokéMart Supercenter is evil,” Louise quickly answered as she recovered her breath, a mixture of embarrassment and irritation filling her voice. Saito paused for a moment before nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Saito agreed, offering his hand to help Louise to her feet, which she accepted. “Moving on, let’s get to why we are here.” Quickly releasing his Pokémon, Saito beckoned Louise to do the same, who quickly complied. Ronin and Tanuki quickly ran up to Brennaraki and Aile and turned to face Saito and Louise, looking up at the two trainers expectantly. “Now then, I have some ideas for how to proceed, but I wanted to ask you something first: Where do you think you went wrong?”

“Hmmh,” Louise hummed to herself as she looked over the previous battle again in her mind, raking it for every possible error before looking Saito in the eyes. “I got…overconfident, thinking that type advantage would carry me to victory when it couldn’t.”

“That is true, but you also forgot how your performance completely fell apart when Viola turned the arena into an impromptu ice skating rink.”

“…how could I forget about that…” Louise grumbled at the memory. “Stupid Surskit…”

“Regardless of how ‘stupid’ the Surskit is, the fact is that once Viola froze the field, you couldn’t adapt. That lack of being able to adapt is also a key weakness you have. You’re too rigid, both in strategy and moveset, even after Aile and Brennaraki learned Quick Attack and Psywave. You didn’t even think to melt the field.” Saito paced, continuing to lecture to an attentive audience.

‘ _…Founder, why didn’t I do that?!_ ’ Louise slapped herself in the forehead as she realized the obvious solution to her previous ordeal.

“…So, what do you suggest I do to fix it?” Louise asked, crossing her arms. At this, Saito nodded his head at his Pokémon, who promptly nodded and barked at Aile and Brennaraki, beckoning them to follow. “Where are they going?” Louise asked as the Pokémon ran off, stopping at the opposite end of the clearing.

“I talked it over with Ronin and Tanuki, and we figured that they would be better teachers than either of us regarding teaching Aile and Brennaraki new moves, so they will be doing a separate training from us.”

“Us?” A pit formed in Louise’s stomach, which only deepened as Saito eyed the backpack she was still wearing. “What do you mean us?”

“Did that school you claim to have been a part of ever have P.E.?”

“…what’s P.E.?”

* * *

 

After an hour of doing sit-ups, push-ups, and a wide array of other excruciating exercises, Louise had learned exactly what P.E. was: It was Hell.

“3…2…1. Okay, we can stop now,” Saito, finishing another set of push-ups, declared as he stood up and stretched, while Louise, drenched in sweat, collapsed in a heap.

“Whoever…thought…of P.E…. can rot!” Louise groaned, her body sore and exhausted.

“A lot of people would agree with you there,” Saito smirked, his amusement audible. “Now come on, get up. We still got run another two kilometers.”

“You…can rot…”

“Talk like that and we’ll do three kilometers,” Saito chuckled, earning a sharp glare from Louise as she rose to her feet, panting. “Relax, I’m only joking. Let’s take a break.”

“Oh, thank the Founder…” Louise practically collapse from how quickly she sat down. Continuing to pant, she stopped only when Saito handed her a water bottle, then proceeded to down much of it in deep gulps. “Is… Is there a reason why…” Louise panted, struggling to get the words out.

“Why I had you exercise?” Louise slowly nodded at Saito, who remained smug. “Well after spending some time with you yesterday, I got the impression that you weren’t in the best shape, and as an aspiring trainer, that is a characteristic you need.”

“And all of that was really—”

“That and payback for getting me poisoned.”

“How many times do I have to say sorry!?” Louise shouted, irritated at the now laughing Saito.

“It’s fine, really,” Saito, calming himself down, replied. “Now come on, we’ve had enough rest. Time for our nex—” Saito began, only to be interrupted by the smell of smoke. Looking towards its source, he and Louise saw a small fire, courtesy of a sheepish Brennaraki, getting put out by Ronin.

“I wonder what they’re talking about?” Louise wondered as Ronin began to lecture Brennaraki. Rustling in the trees alerted the two trainers to Aile and Tanuki’s whereabouts.

“Don’t know,” Saito shrugged. “There are Pokémon that can talk like people, but usually they’re a psychic, have an aura, or some combination of those.” At that, Saito beckoned for her to follow, Louise reluctantly submitting herself to another kilometer of running, leaving the Pokémon behind once more.

* * *

 

As the two trainers ran off to continuing their training, the Pokémon themselves remained behind, concentrating on their own training. As Saito worked on improving Louise’s physical strength, Ronin and Tanuki worked with Brennaraki and Aile to improve their counterpart’s move sets.

To anyone else, their series of barks, yips, and chirps would be simply that, their understanding limited. But to the Pokémon, each sound and its meaning was clear as day.

“ _The key, Brennaraki,_ ” Ronin, currently kneeling with eyes closed, lectured, “ _is patience. Let your mind clear, and concentrate. Turn the flame into a great vortex._ ”

“ _I’m trying!_ ” Brennaraki grunted as she formed a fireball in her mouth. But instead of letting it loose, she kept it stable and still as she tried to manipulate it. “ _This stupid thing won’t spin!_ ”

“ _You are very much like your trainer. So very short-tempered._ ”

“ _Don’t talk down to me, you wannabe knight!_ ” Brennaraki yipped, accidentally letting go of the fireball, sending it flying into a scorched patch of dirt and setting it ablaze. Before it could spread, a stream of water was dumped into it, extinguishing the flames.

“ _Heh, heh… Oops?_ ” Brennaraki only received a blank stare from Ronin, directing her to try again. As she turned to do so, Tanuki jumped over them, a speeding Aile hot on his heels.

“ _Come on, you Slowpoke!_ ” Tanuki taunted, effortlessly leaping from branch to branch.

“ _If you’d slow down, I would have caught up to you already!_ ” Aile screeched as she sped towards the laughing dog. As she neared, Tanuki suddenly jumped overhead, forcing Aile to sharply bank and turn around. “ _Gaagh!_ ”

“ _Where’s the fun in that?_ ” Tanuki asked, ducking under Aile once again. “ _Besides, we’re doing agility training. Part of that is concentrating your energy, converting it into a speed boost, and_ not _immediately releasing it. It’s easy, really._ ”

“ _If it’s so easy, why don’t you use it!?_ ”

“ _Because I’m too awesome for it, that’s why._ ” Tanuki smirked, much to Aile’s growing irritation. “ _Now, what’s it going to take to get you properly motivated. Maybe some food that ends up attracting more Beedrill?_ ”

“ _How many times do I have to say I’m sorry about that!_ ”

“ _A lot more would be nice,_ ” Brennaraki butted in, accidentally letting lose the fireball once more. “ _Dang it… Wait, that one had a small spin to it!_ ”

“ _Very good. Now, let’s try again._ ” With renewed confidence, Brennaraki began forming a fireball once more. At the same time, Aile continued her training with Tanuki, determined to finally catch the annoying hound.

* * *

 

After another exhausting run with Saito, Louise, wheezing from the exercise, trudged back into the clearing, drenched in sweat. Saito, on the other hand, continued to be in good spirits, albeit also covered in sweat.

“Wow, you are _really_ out of shape, huh?” Saito’s smirk was audible to the exhausted girl. Before she could wheeze out a retort, Saito pulled out a water bottle and handed it to the girl, who greedily began gulping it down. “Easy, easy. Take it slow, alright?”

“… Thank you,” Louise, heeding his advice, finished drinking her water. As she handed the bottle back to the boy, she noticed it was only halfway full. “So, what now? Going to have me do more exercise?” Louise held back the nervousness from her voice the best she can, but it still made itself known.

“Nah, I think we’re good for today.” Saito’s words were like music to Louise’s ears.

“Oh, thank the Founder…” Louise sighed in relief. “So, now what do we do?”

“Now, we get to the reason why we are here,” Saito turned away from Louise towards the other end of the clearing, where the four Pokémon were still training. “Ronin, Tanuki, it’s time for phase two! Come on over!” At Saito’s command, the four Pokémon ceased their training and quickly made their way to their trainers. “Now, getting physically stronger and learning new moves is good and all, but unless you know how to properly strategize, they won’t mean much.”

“Make sense,” Louise nodded in agreement. “So, I take it we’re going to have a practice battle to work on that?”

“Got it in one,” Saito, taking Ronin and Tanuki with him, walked to the far end of the clearing and continued to talk. “Now, we are going to treat this as a mock Gym Challenge, with me as the Gym Leader. As such, I will not be switching out my Pokémon while you can.” Saito, arriving at the far end, stopped and turned around. “You ready?”

“Brennaraki, Aile, any progress on Fire Spin and Agility?” Louise whispered to her Pokémon, who nodded in affirmation. “We’re ready!”

“Alright, then. Ronin, you’re up!” Ronin promptly ran out onto the field, bowing once again to Louise before readying himself. “You take the first move.”

“Aile, let’s go!” As the tiny bird flew off of Louise’s shoulder and hovered over her starting position, Louse wracked her brain, remembering Ronin’s previous performance. Coming to a decision, Louise started to give orders. “Take off with Tailwind! Don’t stop moving!” Aile, flapping her wings, created a draft of wind and took off, soaring high above the battlefield.

“Air slash, Ronin!” Saito commanded. “Keep her off balance!” Ronin, pulling out his scalchop, began firing compressed slices of air towards the bird, who nimbly dodged them with a series of rolls and dives.

“Dive down and use Agility!” Aile began a rapid descent, dodging yet another Air Slash in the process, a purple sheen covering her body and sped up considerably. “Don’t stop using it until I tell you to!”

“Ah, I see. Trying to compensate for when Tailwind goes away?” Saito asked, continuing to watch Ronin attempt to hit the increasingly faster bird.

“Yes, I am,” Louise nodded before quickly regaining focus. “Aile, use Quick Attack!” With the added boost to speed Agility gave, Aile practically disappeared as she sped towards Ronin, who continued to fire compressed slices of air towards her. Just before the blow was dealt, Ronin dodge-rolled to the side, receiving only a graze to his right arm.

“Smart, using Agility to increase Aile’s force,” Saito appraised the strategy, watching Aile bank for another pass. “But, that strategy has a drawback, you know.”

“What might that be?” Louise asked, watching Aile speed ever closer to

“It works both ways,” Louise’s eyes widened in realization as Saito smirked. “Air Slash on the ground!” Aile attempted to pull out at the last minute, but her speed made it impossible as Ronin sliced the ground in front of him and Aile, sending up chunks of dirt, grass, and rock into the air. Aile tried to slow herself down, but her inertia was too great as she flew straight into the cloud of debris and getting buffeted relentlessly before crashing hard into the ground. As she skid across the ground, a small trough was formed after her, only ending once she impacted a tree. As Aile struggled to lift herself off the ground, Louise wracked her brain for an explanation.

“What…what just happened?”

“Newton’s First Law: An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force,” Saito began to explain, remembering his high school education. “Sure, by using Agility and Tailwind in conjunction with one another, especially after using Agility multiple times, Aile did increase the force of her attack. But, that also meant that should she need to _stop_ , inertia makes it that much harder. When Aile hit the ground that fast, she might as well have been crashing into concrete.”

“…oh,” Louise slapped her forehead. “Of course it would.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a sound strategy. It just needs improvement, that’s all. Probably use Agility less, and it could work.” Saito suggested.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Shall we?”

“Sure thing. Ronin, Water Gun!” At that, Ronin let loose a stream of water towards Aile, who jumped over it and took off into the air, the Tailwind dying down as she did so.

‘ _Come on, think!_ ’ Louise thought as she observed the battle, trying to find a weakness to exploit before eying Ronin’s arm. “Wait a second… Aile, skim just over the ground and fly towards Ronin!” Aile, confused as towards Louise’s thought, complied and proceeded to do so. As she sped across the ground, dodging streams of water, a small dust cloud was generating underneath and behind her, a cloud that was only increasing in size.

 _‘What are you planning?_ ’ Saito thought to himself, eyeing the bird closely, who continued to get ever closer to Ronin.

“Now, bank!” At Louise’s command, Aile sharply banked while the dust cloud kept going forward straight into Ronin. The Oshawatt could only shield his face from the debris, making him lose track of Aile. Regaining his composure as the dust cloud settled, he searched for Aile, his eyes rapidly shifting to and from areas of interest, only to find no trace of the small bird. “Quick Attack on his arm!” Louise suddenly shouted, causing Ronin’s eyes to widen as Aile shot forward and, unable to get out of the way in time, received a direct blow to his wounded arm.

“Ronin!” Saito shouted, seeing his starter cry out in pain. Before he could respond, Louise issued another order.

“Latch on and keep using Peck!” Aile promptly wrapped herself around Ronin and began to rapidly peck the arm like a woodpecker, each sharp jab sending ripples of pain up Ronin’s arm, who struggled to remove the bird. He began delivering sharp jabs to Aile in a desperate attempt to get the bird off, but unable to do so, he fell to his knees in pain.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Saito called out, the battle promptly ending with Aile detaching herself from Ronin and Ronin, grasping his arm, walking over to Saito. “Kind of a cheap move, right there.” Saito commented, eyebrow raised, as he applied a potion to Ronin’s arm.

“What, you don’t approve?” Louise smirked and patted Aile on the head.

“Against my Pokémon, certainly. From a practical standpoint, however, that was smart. Good job,” Saito replied as he stood up. “You ready to keep going?”

“Of course.” Louise confidently stated, Aile flying back onto the field, lower to the ground than the start of the first round.

“Alright then. Tanuki, avenge Ronin!” Tanuki, at Saito’s orders, leapt out onto the field and landed in a three-point landing, glaring at Aile with a slight frown, his normal cheerfulness gone.

“…this is going to suck, isn’t it?” Louise, her previous confidence gone, gulp. Tanuki promptly answered by stomping on a nearby flat rock, launching it into the air. Before Louise or Aile could respond, Tanuki delivered a roundhouse kick to the rock, sending it flying straight into Aile, who crashed to the ground in a heap, her eyes looking like swirls. “…Guess that answers my question.”

“I’m just going to point out, that was Tanuki’s idea, not mine,” Saito pointed to a now jolly Tanuki, who was happy to avenge his comrade.

“Figured as such,” Louise grumbled, returning Aile to her Luxury Ball and sending out Brennaraki. “Well, I’m not going to let this insult slide! Brennaraki, Psywave!” Brennaraki promptly fired off a wave of psychic energy, its cascading form shooting towards Tanuki.

“Dodge then use Quick Attack!” Tanuki, already preparing to dodge, cartwheeled out of the way and shot himself forward, attempting to tackle Brennaraki to the ground. Jumping out of the way, Brennaraki launched another psychic wave towards Tanuki, who used Quick Attack to dodge out of the way.

“Ooh, that’s clever. I should use that…” Louise mused to herself. “But that’s for later. Brennaraki, let’s try out Fire Spin!” Heeding Louise’s command, Brennaraki formed a fireball in her mouth and began to rotate it, turning the small ember into a fiery twister and launching it towards Tanuki. Jumping out of the way, Tanuki, with pride in his eyes, gazed upon the twisting inferno, which remained in place. He, however, did not, as he backflipped over another Psywave. “Scorch the land!” Taking a cue from Viola and her Surskit, Brennaraki began firing more and more Fire Spins and Embers, forming a ring of fire that surrounded the two Pokémon, constricting their movements.

“Limiting his space to dodge, nice touch,” Saito commented. “Tanuki, use Meteor Mash!” With a glowing paw, Tanuki rushed towards Brennaraki, who jumped into the raging inferno to escape the blow. Unable to safely follow, Tanuki held back and retreated towards the circle’s center, tuning his sense to try and find the fire fox.

“Brennaraki, Ember!” Louise’s voice suddenly shouted, directing Tanuki’s attention towards a large fireball erupting out of the flames. Jumping over the attack, Tanuki had to lean back upon landing to dodge yet another fireball, this one coming from a different angle.

“Oh ho ho, using the fire as cover! That is nice!” Saito praised the tactic, causing Louise to erupt into a smile. As Tanuki continued to effortlessly dodge the Embers, now joined by Psywaves, Saito analyzed the situation, trying to find a way out. “Tanuki, use Quick Attack straight up!”

Understanding Saito’s logic, Tanuki leapt upwards into the air, his jump boosted by the additional speed Quick Attack had given him. Curving himself midflight, Tanuki arced over the firewall, barely getting past the barrier, but receiving a slight burn in the process. Seeing her chance, Brennaraki launched another Ember at the hurt Riolu, only to be surprised when a glowing paw caught the fireball, holding it in place.

“… Huh. Did not know he could do that,” Saito admitted, dumbfounded over the development, as was Louise and Brennaraki. Smiling, Tanuki threw the fireball back at Brennaraki, striking her in the face and following up with a Quick Attack. Taking the momentum forward, Tanuki landed blow after blow on the fire fox, dodging any attempts at retaliation she threw at him.

“Stop!” Louise yelled out, halting the battle in its tracks. “I yield.” Nodding to her, Saito directed Ronin to begin putting out the flames while he and Louise began administering medicine to the injured Pokémon.

“Not bad,” Saito stated as he and Louise worked. “You’re learning. Pretty quickly, I might add.”

“Thank you. Think I’m ready for Viola, yet?”

“Not just yet. Maybe tomorrow,” Saito advised. Unlike last time, Louise nodded in agreement.

[~][~]


	13. Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito prepare for Louise's rematch, where the two begin to bond.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)  
Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 3**

* * *

 

After a long day of training, for both her and her Pokémon, Louise was exhausted. She ran, crunched, pushed, pulled, every conceivable exercise Saito could think of, she did it. That wasn’t to say it was just her. To his credit, Saito joined in, every step of the way, and by now was just as exhausted.

“I… I think we’re good…” Saito breathed out, eyeing the sun as began its descent. “Let’s…set up camp. I don’t think we can make it back to Santalune before it gets dark.”

“Thank…you…” Louise, currently sprawled out on the forest floor, wheezed as she struggled to get to her feet, only to be lent a helping hand by Saito. As she rose to her feet, she hunched over to catch her breath. “How…often should I do this…?”

“Once every few days, really…” Saito admitted. “Granted, you’ll be hiking a lot, which should suffice most of the time, but doing some dedicated exercise days wouldn’t hurt. At the very least, the more you do it, the easier it gets.”

“I…keep that in mind,” Louise said, straightening herself. Saito had already pulled out his camping supplies, which like her included a tent, sleeping bag, and a portable stove. Unlike hers, his were obviously cheaper and of lower quality, more suited for standard weather rather than extremes. Following his lead, she opened her backpack and pulled out her sleeping bag and rolled it out on the forest floor.

“What are you doing?” Saito asked, his eyebrows raised and widened in confusion as to what he was seeing.

“I’m setting up camp,” Louise replied, continuing to roll out her sleeping bag.

“Where’s your tent? Oh Arceus, please tell me you have one.”

“I have one! I just…don’t know how to set it up…” Louise blushed from embarrassment, feeling Saito’s gaze bore into her.

“… Then, where is it?” At Saito’s request, Louise reached into her backpack and pulled out the tube containing her tent, handing it over to Saito. Promptly opening it, Saito could only sigh in resignation at the sight of the snarled heap that was the improperly managed tent.

“What happened? Why is it like this?”

“Heh, heh… Well, you see, I tried once to set it up, and when it didn’t go very well and almost got ripped, I…put it away.”

“You call _this_ ,” Saito pointed to the tent in emphasis, “’putting it away’? How long has it been like this?”

“…about a week,” Louise was practically red at this point, while Saito looked increasingly exasperated.

“When did you get it?”

“…right before I left Lumiose…a week ago…”

“… How long did it take for you to travel down Route 4?”

“…a week…”

“…are you telling me that you spent an entire week in the wild, with nothing but the clothes on your back and a sleeping bag to protect you while you slept?”

“…I had Brennaraki to keep me warm…” Louise could only meekly nod, causing Saito to slap himself.

“Didn’t it rain once last week on Route 4?”

“I never actually got hit by that. It went away right before it got to me,” Louise admitted. “Got lucky, I guess. Only good bit of it I had that week…”

“Arceus…,” Saito sighed. “Okay, new plan. I’m teaching you how to set up a tent. Now, where are the instructions? And I swear, if you say that you threw them out, so help me…” Saito stopped once he pulled out the instruction booklet, still in its plastic container.

“… Those were instructions?”

“Just…get over here before I blow a gasket…”

* * *

 

“See, isn’t this so much better?” Saito and his smug look irritated Louise, but she had to admit, sitting inside of her freshly assembled tent, he was correct. It was rapidly getting dark, and with the clouds obscuring the moonlight, the only source of light was the firepit Brennaraki, currently held in Louise’s arms, had lit up.

“Yes, it is. You can stop being so smug now.” Her glare only might Saito laugh. Nevertheless, the acquiesced and turned his attention back to the fire.

“So,” Saito began, “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Is it about my home?” Louise threw out a guess and sighed. “You still don’t believe me, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t, it’s just…” Saito struggled to find the words. “Look, as I said before, your being from another world would certainly explain many things about you. It’s just…you never really explained just why you are so obsessed with ‘proving your worth’.”

“I already told you,” Louise sighed. “If I don’t prove my worth, I don’t get to go home. It’s as simple as that.”

“I doubt _that_ more than your original story,” Saito declared, shocking Louise into silence. “With the way you’ve acted, I seriously doubt that all of _this_ ,” Saito waved his hand above his head in emphasis, “started with your arrival in Lumiose. Something tells me, this goes deeper. Am I right?”

Louise could only stare at Saito, unsure of how to answer. Seeing her unease, Saito shook his head.

“Forget I said anything. Sorry for—”

“I was born the youngest of three daughters of the Vallière family,” Louise’s soft voice rang out over the camp, catching Saito’s attention. “The Vallières are among the most important families in the entirety of Tristain, my home kingdom, second only to the royal family. My mother, Karin de la Vallière, is the most powerful mage my country has ever produced. A war hero, who formerly commanded the Manticore Knights. My father, he was a general, who led Tristain’s armies for many years.”

Silently making a note to ask what kind of Pokémon a ‘manticore’ was, Saito leaned forward. “So, with such a huge importance already placed on your family…”

“That same importance was placed onto me from the very beginning. I was expected to be everything a noble was supposed to be. Confident, powerful, superior in every way. At first, things were…perfect. Life at the Vallière estate was peaceful. I had friends from all over the kingdom. My early magical studies, all from the best tutors my family had, were exceptional. I was even the personal playmate to Princess Henrietta…” Louise trailed off.

“What changed?” Saito asked, seeing where things were going. Taking a deep breath, Louise continued.

“…When nobles turn eight, that’s when we move from mere magical theory to practice. This is when nobles find their affinities, which element they are most attuned to. When I held my wand, my father's old wand, in my hand for the first time, I was so excited. The ultimate proof of what separates nobility from commoners, and I was about to do it,” Louise took a deep breath before continuing on.

“My first spell was supposed to be one that, once casted, would determine your elemental affinity. It was a simple beginner spell, one that anyone could cast. But I didn’t get fire, or water, or wind, or earth. No, I wasn’t that lucky. Instead, I blew up half the room.”

“Your first spell was an explosion?” Saito asked in worry. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No one was hurt, thank the Founder, but no one knew why it happened. Of course, now I know it’s because I’m a Void mage, but back then they thought I miscast it, somehow, so I tried again. Another explosion. After a while, it became clear to everyone that I could not cast magic.”

“But…you created an explosion from nothing. Even for me, that’s obviously magic.”

“It wasn’t done _right_!” Louise shouted, standing up in rage. “We tried for months to figure out what was going wrong! Again, and again, spell after spell, incantation after incantation, the result was always the same! Another explosion! It wouldn’t matter what affinity we tried, they all failed!” Louise snarled at the memory, tightly clenching her fists and grinding her teeth. Upon seeing Saito’s surprised face, she took a deep breath and sat back down.

“After that, things started falling apart. My family stopped hiring tutors, my friends stopped associating themselves with me out of fear. My oldest sister, Éléonore, took the frustration of her failed engagement out on me, while my parents started having me take marriage classes, to make me a better wife. I even lost Henrietta after I covered for her at a party. If it weren’t for my other sister, Cattleya, I would have been completely alone…” Shaking her head and steeling her eyes, Louise looked up and stared into the fire.

“My family may had given up on me, but I refused to give up. I started studying on my own, without tutors, determined to find out just what was causing my ailment. For years, I tried to cast a successful spell, only to fail every single time. Eventually, though, I convinced my family to let me go to the Tristainian Academy of Magic, the greatest institute of learning on the entire continent. I thought things would change for the better, that I would finally be a proper mage.”

“I take it that’s not what happened, is it?” Saito suggested, to which Louise nodded.

“The exact same thing happened all over again, only now it wasn’t private. Once again, I was alienated. Only, this time, things got _worse_.”

“…How?” Saito asked, anger beginning to rise towards what he knew was coming.“

The students didn’t just _avoid_ me. No, they _tormented_ me,” Louise emphasized. “For over a year, I was subjected to constant ridicule, laughter, mockery, denials of me being a noble. The ‘Zero’, they called me, because I could do ‘zero’ magic. The only thing they _didn’t_ do was any physical harm, not that it helped. All of which was led by Kirche von Zerbst. She was the worst, by far. She was the one who started it, and everyone else followed her lead.”

“Why would she do that?” Saito was fuming at this point. “You couldn’t control the fact that you could only cast explosions.”

“No, but her family and mine have feuded for generations. She likely saw tormenting me as continuing the family tradition…” Louise paused to clench her fist in anger before moving on. “I _desperately_ wanted to prove them wrong, so every chance I could take to perform a spell I did. As always, only an explosion occurred, which only made things worse. By the end of my first year, my teachers were about to give up on me, as well.”

“Which is why you were so focused on the ‘summoning’, I take it?” Saito pointed out. He may not believe this part of the story, but he could certainly believe the bullying part.

“It was my last chance. If I had failed my summoning, I would have been sent home. When I failed the first time, I tried again. When I failed again, I tried for a third time. And you already know what happened then…” Louise trailed off, her story finished. A silence descended over the camp, oppressive and heavy.

“Your classmates sound like assholes,” Saito declared, shocking Louise. “Now, I still don’t necessarily believe your story about coming from another world and talking to Arceus, but you going to a school and being bullied for something you couldn’t control? _That’s_ universal, no matter where you are, and you didn’t deserve that.”

“…thank you,” Louise’s soft voice came out. Deciding to change the subject, Louise cleared her throat. “How long until we start eating?”

“I was about to start, actually,” Saito stood up and went to his backpack, pulling out a portable stove, some pans, and some patties out of a cooler. “Ever have hamburgers?”

“No, actually,” Louise answered, happy to have moved onto the subject of food.

“Oh, you’re in for a treat.”

* * *

 

“Saito! Come on, let’s go! I want to get my Gym Badge!” the voice of Louise rang out from outside of Saito’s tent. Groggy, Saito unzipped his tent door, only to see Louise already dressed and ready to go, with the notable exception of her tent. Looking out, he could see that the sun was only just rising, meaning that once again Louise had woken him up at the crack of dawn.

“…what is with you and getting up at dawn?” Saito groaned.

“It’s something my mother drilled into us when we were little. Early to bed, early to rise,” Louise replied, her hands resting on her hips.

“…I thought you went to bed that early because you ate five hamburgers and went into a food coma…” Saito flatly responded, making Louise squirm.

“Heh, well you see… Wait, why am I explaining myself to you?!” Louise shrieked back, her face blushing. Outstretching her hand towards a smirking Saito, she continued. “Now get out here! And don’t try to pull that ‘patience is a virtue’ excuse, again.”

“Heh, whatever you say,” Saito joked as he zipped back up his tent to prepare himself. “Need me to help you put away your tent before we go?”

“…yes, please…”

* * *

 

The two now fully dressed, they quickly began packing their tents, Saito taking extra care to fully explain the process to an attentive Louise. Under his guidance, she quickly caught on, and soon she was packing the tent with newfound confidence, something Saito was beginning to recognize as a pattern. Louise, he noted, was a person that did not have a lot of the common knowledge others took for granted, but once she pushed herself to learn, she quickly grasped it. Case in point, her marked improvement in their practice battles. He himself was confident that she stood a decent chance this time. She, on the other hand, was not so sure.

“Louise, you’ll be fine,” he reassured his nervous travelling companion.

“I know that, but…still,” Louise answered. During the trip back into Santalune, Louise’s confidence began to drop as she neared the site of her biggest failure thus far in this new world. “It’s just… Last time was _awful_. I’ve never lost that badly before.”

“Most first losses against Gym Leaders are. I told you: losing to them, especially on your first time, is expected,” Saito patted Louise on the shoulder. “Besides, you know what to expect now. Last time, you went in overconfident and didn’t take the challenge seriously. Now, you know just how strong she is.”

“That’s the problem…” Louise grumbled as she neared the Gym. Stopping at the front door, she took a deep breath and, with Saito once again encouraging her, stepped into the building. Nothing had changed since the last time she had entered, except for a few more framed photographs. The entrance to the Gym Arena was still locked, the same couldn’t be said for the audience stand. With that entrance open, Saito nodded to Louise and made his way in, leaving Louise alone in the foyer. Nervously rocking back and forth, Louise began looking at the various photographs, both new and old. One caught her eye, one of a Beedrill in combat. Moving to get a better look, Louise was puzzled to find the Beedrill to look familiar.

“That one’s my favorite,” Louise jumped as a voice suddenly sounded right behind her. Whirling around, Louise was surprised to see the voice belonged to Viola, busy appraising her work. “You just get the raw emotion of the moment right there. The anger, the rage, that Beedrill burned brightly with it. I was just lucky enough to catch it on film.”

“… I can see it,” Louise, looking closer, agreed. “Is this… Is this from a few days ago?”

“It is,” Viola nodded. “This is a picture of the Queen.”

“But the Queen Mega-Evolved. Why did it change back?” Louise raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Why did it Mega-Evolve in the first place, even? Professor Sycamore was adamant about needing a keystone for the transformation.”

“I’m no expert in Mega-Evolution, unfortunately, so I can’t answer either of those questions. But, I suspect Augustine can,” the Gym Leader answered. “All I know is that once you and Saito finally fled, the Queen reverted back to her regular form. Didn’t make her any less angry, though, something I am glad to have caught here.”

At Viola’s explanation, Louise fell silent, trying to wrap her head around that sequence of events. The whole thing was confusing to her, and if she had to guess it had something to do with her magic. Shaking her head and putting the question away for later, she turned to look Viola straight in the eye.

“Viola Pansy, I, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, hereby challenge you to a rematch,” Louise, with as much confidence as she could muster, declared. Viola, in response, merely smirked.

“I accept.”

[~][~]


	14. Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise conducts her pre-battle test for Viola: a search within Santalune Forest without any modern amenities to guide or assist her, while Viola and Saito watch from afar.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 4**

* * *

 

“Do you remember our last battle, Louise?” Viola asked, with Santalune Forest to her back and Louise to her front.

“… Vividly,” Louise shuddered, both at the memory and the sight of that dreadful forest. “Why?”

“Then you remember the referee talking about a practical challenge?” Viola crossed her arms, an expectant look appearing on her face.

“I think I remember something about that,” Louise nodded. “I take it that’s why we’re out here?”

“You got it.  It is a recent requirement, so I’m not surprised you don’t know much about it. You see, every Gym Challenge has two parts: a test of sorts, and a battle. Normally, we do a test first, meant to test the knowledge of a trainer and the bonds with their Pokémon,” Viola lectured to an attentive Louise. “Due to extenuating circumstances, we skipped the test last time, but, now that the forest is safe again, I feel confident that you can safely perform it.”

“That makes sense. Not everything a trainer does is battle oriented.”

“You catch on fast. Good, you’ll need it here,” Viola smiled and pointed out towards the forest. “Your challenge is simple, and, given how we met, quite appropriate. Somewhere in Santalune Forest lies a single Bug Badge. It is hidden, and your job is to find it.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Louise began to march into the forest, only to be stopped by Viola’s outreached arm.

“I wasn’t done explaining the challenge just yet,” Viola’s smile turned into a smirk, causing Louise to gulp. “There are two conditions to pass the test and thereby earn your right to battle me. One, you have two hours to not only find the Bug Badge, but to bring it back here. Two, no items or technology are allowed. You must work with your Pokémon and use the natural environment to find your way.”

“What?! Why?” Louise shrieked. “Why would I go into a forest unsupplied? Even _I_ know that’s stupid!”

“Under normal circumstances, you would be right. However, there may be times where you don’t have those supplies,” Viola then began to count, extending a finger with each point. “You may run out, and the nearest town is miles away. A wild Pokémon may steal them. They may get damaged and need replacement. It may even be as simple as losing battery power or getting expired. The point is, Louise, trainers need to know how to survive without those supplies and still get to their destination.”

“I…guess that makes sense,” Louise reluctantly took off her back pack, pulling out Brennaraki and Aile’s Luxury Balls. “No Pokéballs, either?” Viola nodded, and with a sigh, Louise released her Pokémon. As they came out, they quickly noticed the forest and sighed as well.

“I know, I know. But, we go in there and get the badge, and we _never_ have to go in there again,” Louise suddenly had a thought pop into her head and turned to look at Viola. “That is true, right? Even if I lose?”

“While I can’t guarantee that you will never go in there again, at very least it won’t be from me. If you pass a test, they don’t get repeated.” Louise nodded at this and turned, only for Viola to cough. “One more thing. My Pokémon have placed markers at the edge of the search area. The badge is within its boundaries. As for its location, head south to the far end of the marked area. There, you will find a small stump with the Bug Badge embedded on it. Here is a picture to help you identify it.”

“Thanks, I guess…” Louise gulped as she took hold of the picture. As Viola indicated, the Bug Badge was indeed embedded into a small stump, hidden inside a small grove of trees. Based off the light cascading down from above, it must have a small opening in the canopy to let in sunlight. Putting the picture away in her pocket, Loiuse began to march back into the forest, only to pause right at its entrance. She looked back at a beckoning Viola before facing the forest once again. Taking a deep breath, her eyes steeled as she took her first step.

* * *

 

While Louise hiked through the woods once again, Saito and his Pokémon remained in the Gym itself, currently watching her progress on a giant screen. Viola had attached a video camera to one of her Ninjasks, and it was currently following her like a cameraman. Their attention focused purely on Louise’s efforts, they barely noticed the door open until Viola sat down among them.

“Viola,” Saito respectfully nodded, directing his attention back onto the screen.

“Saito,” Viola nodded back, her eyes never leaving the screen. “In case you’re worried, she’s in no actual danger. We cleared the area of anything particularly powerful. If things get too hairy for her, my Pokémon are in the immediate area just in case something goes wrong.”

“I figured,” Saito shrugged. “To be honest, this sort of testis perfect for her.”

“Yeah, she needed this,” Viola trailed off as Louise entered a new area of the forest, carefully searching every nook and cranny for a clue. “I’m fairly confident she’ll pass. Someone like her, once they put their mind to something, they’ll do it, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes.” At this, Viola and Saito chuckled.

“That sounds about right. She’s stubborn to a fault. I have firsthand experience of that…”

“Speaking of which, how’s the arm?” Viola turned to look at Saito, who moved the arm in question around as a response.

“It’s fine now, thanks for asking.” Redirecting his attention back onto the screen, he watched as Louise came across a boundary marker.

* * *

 

“Stupid forest…,” Louise grumbled to herself as she stared at the red boundary marker. It had only been ten minutes since the test had started, and so far it hasn’t been off to a great start. Stomping her feet, Louise fumed before forcing herself to calm down. “Okay, just picking random directions isn’t working. Think Louise, think. Small stump in a grove under a skylight… How am I supposed to find that if I don’t know where I’m going?” As Louise continued to grumble, Aile chirped, took off from Louise’s shoulder, and fluttered in mid air before landing back on the ground. Louise squinted her eyes, trying to find Aile’s meaning, only for them for widen in sudden realization. “Aile, can’t believe we didn’t do this at first, can you fly above the tree tops and direct us to the nearest clearing?” Aile chirped in affirmation as she took off, speeding through the tree canopy.

“…You know, it is so nice that I don’t have to bribe her to do anything anymore,” Louise gazed towards the fresh hole Aile made, hearing a small yelp from Brennaraki in agreement. Soon enough, Aile came back down with a happy chirp, having found a tree that matched the description. “Good job, Aile. Tell you what, you take us to the badge, and I’ll give you some honey as a treat.” Aile let out a happy chirp at that news and began to fly off, Louise and Brennaraki following.

* * *

 

“She’s learning,” Saito observed as he watched Louise follow Aile’s form. “She told me it took her nearly an hour to start asking Aile to help find you when she last went in. Here, it took ten minutes.”

“Probably doesn’t hurt that Aile seems to be much more willing to cooperate, now.” At Saito’s confused look, Viola chucked. “Please, I saw you two walk into the clearing and what Aile did. I recognized Aile’s displeasure at being captured almost immediately. It appears that a brush with death caused her to appreciate her trainer more, and quell her appetite… You’re still angry at her, aren’t you?”

“A little bit, yeah.”

* * *

 

With Aile now taking the lead, Louise and her Pokémon trekked through the forest at a much brisker pace, happy to finally be making progress. There were a few wild Weedles, Caterpies, and Scatterbugs that attacked them, but after only one or two attacks they were quickly driven off. During those encounters, Louise told her Pokémon to not interfere and to let each Pokémon take on one at a timing. Her reasoning was that the actual gym battle against Viola would operate the same way. In the end, It wasn’t long until the group came across the clearing Aile had spotted, but upon closer examination found a distinct lack of badges. Although slightly disappointed, the three continued on.

“I think we’re getting closer, now,” Louise mused as Aile flew above the canopy once more, gauging their progress towards their now third clearing. As they entered, they sighed in resignation as they noticed a distinct lack of a stump. “Okay, this isn’t working. We can’t simply go from clearing to clearing hoping it is the correct one. Any ideas, guys?” Louise looked to her Pokémon, hoping they might have a suggestion. After a while, Brennaraki raised her paw, like a student would to a teacher.

“Yes, Brennaraki? You have an idea?” Louise asked.  With the attention now on her, Brennaraki, using her paw for emphasis, began repeatedly pointing between herself, Aile, and Louise. At first, Louise was confused, but her face soon lit up in recognition. “Oh, charades! What are you trying to say? All of us together?” At her answer, Brennaraki happily yipped and nodded before proceeding to walk in place and crossing her arms in an ‘x’.

“I don’t… X marks the spot?” Aile shook her head and repeated her movements. “This isn’t the right spot?” Brennaraki’s glare at Louise made the young mage blush. As Brennaraki once again repeated her movements, Louise snapped her fingers. “Oh, us going together is not working out!” Brennaraki once again happily yipped and proceeded to walk over to Aile. Tapping the slightly confused bird on the back, Brennaraki pointed repeatedly to the sky, while she proceeded to sit down with added emphasis.

“…I see where you are getting at… Aile, we need you to go out and find the stump. Don’t just fly around and direct us to the nearest clearing. Go and search for the correct one, then come back and lead us to it. Okay?” At Louise’s order, Aile chirped and took off, leaving Brennaraki and Louise alone.

“…What?” Louise asked as Brennaraki looked at her with a smug look. “Don’t give me that look. I would have come up with it eventually.”

* * *

 

Soaring above the treetops, Aile’s mind swirled with a myriad array of thoughts: Which clearing housed the badge? Would they be able to make it there and back to the bug lady in time? What would they have for dinner that night, and would honey be involved? These questions all took a backseat to the one at the forefront of Aile’s mind.

 _‘Why? Why did she try to save me? Even though it was all my fault?_ ’ Aile thought to herself as she flew over another empty clearing.

Ever since she nearly caused the group to become Beedrill chow just a few days before, Aile had been consumed with guilt. Saito and the other Pokémon hadn’t fully forgiven her yet, giving her sideways glares or offhand comments. All of which served to only amplify her guilt. And yet, for whatever reason, Louise did not seem to be holding it against her and just seemed to be relieved that she was alright. She couldn’t wrap her head around it, even now.

‘ _It doesn’t make any sense…_ ’ Aile almost flew over another clearing, she was so distracted, but before she could, a bright shine coming from below caught her attention. Directing her gaze down, Aile spotted a tree stump, lying in a small grove. Excitement building, she swooped down to get a closer look. As she neared, the image of a brown, insect-like badge, enclosed in a glass container and embedded in the tree stump, revealed itself to Aile.

“ _Finally!_ ” Aile spun with glee before quickly recomposing herself and speeding off towards Louise and Brennaraki.

‘ _I might not be able to take back what I did, but I can at least make up for it,_ ’ she thought to herself as she neared her trainer, who upon noticing Aile’s entrance, stood up with a smile on her face.

* * *

 

“Looks like they found it,” Saito smiled and placed his hands behind his head. “Won’t be long now.”

“I guess so,” Viola rose to her feet and walking to the door. “Tell me, how much did you and Louise train, yesterday?”

“Guess you’ll find out,” Saito’s smirk caused Viola to chuckle lightly before heading outside. As she did, the smirk on Saito’s face slowly disappeared, turning to a solemn, neutral frown. “Guess I’ll find out.”

* * *

 

As before, only now actually having the correct destination, Louise and Brennaraki followed Aile through the forest. A few more wild Pokémon made themselves known, but by this point dispatching them had become almost second nature. It wouldn’t be long until the Badge was retrieved, and so Louise turned her attention to planning for the battle, her most important upcoming task.

‘ _If it weren’t for that Ninjask, then I could actually_ talk _about my plan…_ ’ Louise thought to herself grumpily. Aile had noticed the camera-strapped Ninjask earlier, and it wasn’t hard to connect the dots. Viola was likely watching them, ostensibly to ensure Louise was safe. She appreciated that, but it also made her frustrated, as that meant that any strategy discussion could be overheard.

‘ _And if mother and father taught me anything, its that to never let your enemy, or opponent in this case, know your plan._ ’ With the advice of her much more strategically-aligned parents in mind, Louise held her tongue, her mind running through scenario after scenario. They all held the same conclusion: that Surskit’s Ice Beam, and more importantly its effect on the battle field, was the primary threat. She _had_ to take it out or at the very least mitigate its effects. Otherwise, her efforts would be for naught. So focused on the upcoming battle, Louise barely even noticed a red and green bug with dull orange eyes crawl in front of her until she nearly stepped on it.

“Uggh, more bugs,” Louise grunted as she stepped away from the insect, who appeared to take grievous offense at her choice of words, judging by the amount of noise it was making. Aile, minding her trainer’s previous command, rested on a tree branch that overlooked the battle. “Brennaraki, send it away.” With an equally irritated eye-roll, Brennaraki sent out a small flame towards the poisonous larvae, only for it to arch itself backwards, away from the fireball, and release an ear-piercing screech.

“Okay, wasn’t expecting that… Brennaraki, box it in with Fi—" Louise stopped herself, remembering Viola’s watching eyes. Not wanting to tip her hand just yet, Louise shifted tactics. “Use Ember on it. Try to box it in, don’t let it dodge.”

Brennaraki nodded then proceeded to do as instructed. She shot out three fireballs towards the insect, scorching the ground around it, the heat making it unable to dodge. Hissing, the Insect spat a glob of sickly greenish gunk at Brennaraki, who nimbly dodged over and shot out another fireball. This one glanced the top of the Bug-type’s head, who hissed in pain before curling into a ball and launched its self towards the fox. Brennaraki leapt to the side, dodging it entirely, before launching yet another fireball at its retreating form. Undeterred, the spinning Insect gave a sharp turn and quickly barreled straight through the fireball and narrowing missed Brennaraki as she jumped out of the way at the last second, causing the Insect to overshoot and slam into a tree, causing it to uncurl and proceeded to hiss angrily at the pair.

“Alright then… Brennaraki, alternate between Psybeam and Ember! Don’t let up!” Louise ordered, wanting to rid herself of this pest. Brennaraki, now annoyed, shot out a series of psychic waves and fireballs, alternating between each. In turn, the strange pillbug responded by spitting more of that green gunk and darting forward as a spinning ball again. This continued for a few minutes with the insect switching between trying to run Brennaraki, and occasionally Louise, over and lobbing globs of mucus whenever it was uncurled. The Insect was good, Louise would give it that. She might even have considered catching it, had she had access to her Luxury Balls. But, given how she didn’t have access to them, she had to pass on the opportunity as Brennaraki was starting to wear the pillbug down.

The Insect apparently realized this after eating another fireball during one of its spitting attempts and seemed to decide on an all or nothing attack, curling back up into a ball it launched itself forward, but instead of directly running straight at Brennaraki it rolled around the area seemingly building up speed. When it finally went for Brennaraki it uncurled and shot forward at the fox and latched onto the foxes leg. While yelping in pain, Brennaraki didn't miss the opportunity since the Insect was finally still and not spitting at her and immediately launched a Fireball and Psybeam, causing it to immediately screech in pain and release its hold. When it recovered the Insect apparently decided that it had enough and as quick as it could, started scuttling for the trees.

“Good job, Brennaraki,” Louise congratulated the fire fox, who turned around to smile at Louise. As she began to walk back towards her trainer, however, a sudden jolt erupted from her leg, and with a whimper of pain, collapsed.

“Brennaraki!” Louise cried out, rushing towards her fallen starter. Aile, now concerned, flew down from her perch to get a closer look. “What’s wrong!” Louise comforted her starter as the two looked her over. Gently guiding her hands over Brennaraki’s leg, Louise stopped as she felt the area where the insect bit her, and gasped as she felt some of that greenish mucus matting some of the fur around the wound.

“She’s been poisoned,” Louise concluded, pulling the barb from her Pokémon’s leg. She reached for her bag, only to grasp empty air. “Oh, no…” Louise gasped. Without her antidotes, they couldn’t help Brennaraki, who continued to whimper in pain. She desperately looked around the forest, hoping for something, anything to help her Pokémon, only to stop at the branch Aile used as a perch. As she did, the memory of Aile’s untimely feast came to mind, only instead of frustration coming forth, it was inspiration.

“Aile, do you know what a Pecha Berry is? It’s a small, pink, heart shaped berry with two green leaves on top,” Aile quickly nodded in immediate understanding and darted off into the wood, leaving behind Louise to comfort Brennaraki.

“It’s going to be okay, girl. It’s going to be okay,” Louise rubbed the top of Brennaraki’s head, calming her somewhat. It wasn’t long until Aile flew back, carrying a small branch with Pecha Berries proudly front and center. Her faith in her Pokémon rewarded, Louise gently pried a berry loose from the branch before feeding it to her Pokémon, who struggled to push it down but managed to do so. After a few tense moments, Brennaraki opened her eyes and got to her feet, her previous pain subsided.

“Oh, thank the Founder,” Louise hugged her starter in relief before rising to her feet. “Come on, we’re almost there,” she called out, with both Brennaraki and Aile sounding off in approval. Pocketing a few of the extra Pecha Berries into her pocket, just in case, Louise and her Pokémon marched further into the forest. The rest of the trip was uneventful, with no other Pokémon making themselves known. Eventually, the group reached a small grove of trees, with the unusually large and malformed stump lying in its center. Sighing in relief Louise started jogging towards the stump only to stop dead in her tracks when it started moving.

The Pokémon looked like a Beetle but only if a Beetle could grow arms, legs, grow a meter tall and have horns that looked like they could break a tree in half that were currently twitching ominously.

Louise gulped and took a step back to review her options. Brennaraki was still hurt from the fight with that pill bug earlier, Aile would be lucky to annoy the Beetle, much less beat it, and time was running out so she couldn't get into a drag-out fight with him. Running away wasn’t an option, even without the time limit, which made waiting it out untenable. Louise was stuck, unable to fight, flee, or be patient. With only one option remaining, Louise nervously waked towards the Pokémon, wringing her hands.

“Um, excuse me,” Louise called out to the large beetle, who continued to stare at her with a menacing stare. Seeing how he didn’t immediately attack her for talking, Louise continued while taking a cautious step forward. “I need to get the badge, so if you could just—” a sharp click from the beetle interrupted Louise, giving her an answer.

“Okay, so you don’t want to move,” the beetle shook its head and continued to guard the stump. Now closer, Louise was able to get a better look at the stump and noticed several bite marks marking it.

“You’re guarding your food…” Louise whispered. It made sense now. Protecting a food source was instinctual for any creature, and a Pokémon would be no different.

“Maybe…” Louise looked over what she had to offer, rummaged through her pockets and pulled out the excess Pecha Berries, presenting them as an offering. Sniffing the berries, the Pokémon took hold of a berry and tasted it, carefully chewing the berry to extract the most flavor. Once it finished, it nodded and took the rest of the berries from her and moved back into the forest, pleased with the food given. With a sigh of relief, Louise carefully waked up to the stump before spotting what she came for: a single Bug Badge, encased in an embedded glass dome.

“Okay,” Louise took a deep breath before opening the case and taking hold of the badge into her hands. “Time to earn this.”

* * *

 

As the two-hour mark started to get close, Viola patiently waited at the entrance to Santalune Forest. Updates courtesy of Ninjask let her know that Louise had found the Bug Badge. Now, the only question was whether Louise would get back in time, a worry that dissipated as soon as Louise emerged triumphant from the forest.

“So, you’ve finally arrived, and with ten minutes to spare. Was starting to get worried,” Viola called out with a smirk. “Do you have it?” At this, Louise proudly pulled out the Bug Badge, holding it out in triumph.

“I think I’ve earned that battle now,” Louise smiled.

“That you have. Let’s get your Pokémon checked up at the Pokémon Center first, though.”

“Thank you.”

[~][~]


	15. Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise has her rematch against Viola, trying to earn her first Badge.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 5**

* * *

Before Louise could battle Viola, a quick stop at the Santalune Pokémon Center was deemed necessary by everyone, given what happened to Brennaraki. Luckily, Louise had tended to it in time, so the damage wasn’t too severe, but even if she hadn’t been challenging Viola she still would have taken her in. As she waited patiently in the lobby, Louise heard the doors open. Turning her head, she smiled faintly as Saito walked in and took a seat next to her.

“Good job on getting the badge,” Saito congratulated her. “Sorry about what happened to Brennaraki. Pretty smart to send Aile out to go find those Pecha Berries.”

“I knew it,” Louise smugly stated, much to Saito’s confusion. Chuckling, Louise waved her hand around in a circle. “Aile spotted the Ninjask carrying the camera early on. We figured you guys were watching the entire time.”

“Oh, so is that why—”

“Yes, that is why I didn’t use their new moves.”

“Huh… Smart. What gave you that idea?”

“Mother taught me to never show your hand in battle. Never really took it seriously until now, but…you know. It made sense to do that.” Louise admitted, causing Saito to chuckle. A calm silence fell among them, only to be broken by the sound of a Wigglytuff entering the lobby, carrying a tray with Brennaraki and Aile’s Luxury Balls on them.

“Ms. Vallière,” the nurse called out over the intercom, “your Pokémon have been fully healed.”

“Thank you, Nurse Joy,” Louise smiled as she took her Pokémon back.

“It is our pleasure. We hope to serve you again,” Nurse Joy happily replied with a bow. At one-point Louise might have been offended at that, in a ‘what are you suggesting’ sort of way, but recognizing it as professional courtesy, Louise smiled back. Turning around, Louise began to walk out the door, Saito following her out. Once they entered the Gym, the two nodded at each other before walking through separate doors. Saito to the spectator stands, Louise to the arena floor.

As she stepped out onto the arena, Louise was mildly surprised at how pristine it looked. If you didn’t know any better, you would have never guessed that just two days before it torn up through battle. Regardless, the arena was not Louise’s main concern, at least for moment. That honor lay with Viola, currently standing across the field, her hand placed on her hip.

“Louise Vallière,” Viola’s voice rang out, a noticeable attempt at sounding formal, “I’m happy to see you back in the Gym. It always nice to see a returning challenger.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t going to let one loss keep me down.”

“I’d be disappointed if you did,” Viola smirked before hardening her expression. “Once again, don’t think I’m going to go easy on you, now.”

“Of course,” Louise smirked back as she readied herself. At this point the referee, seeing how both challengers were ready, walked up to his podium and cleared his throat.

“This is a rematch between the challenger, Louise Vallière, against Gym Leader Viola Pansy. It will be a Singles match, two on two. The challenger reserves the right to exchange Pokémon at any time, while the Gym Leader cannot. Eliminations are by knockout,” the referee announced. The rules were the exact same as last time, Louise noted, yet she listened intently nonetheless. “Are both trainers ready?”

“I am,” Viola replied, her gaze never leaving Louise.

“Yes, sir,” Louise stared with as much, if not more intensity.

“Begin!” the referee shouted, raising his arm in an upward chop.

“Go, Surskit!” Viola called out, reacting almost immediately. As before, the Viola’s Surskit burst out onto the battlefield, its cherry demeanor masking its sinister nature as a spawn from Hell. Saito had laughed when she told him that, to the point where he was crying, but she knew better. Her Pokémon knew better. Louise reached for a Luxury Ball, determined to not make the same mistakes as last time.

“Let’s go, Aile! Show this thing who’s boss!” Louise yelled as she threw the ball out, releasing the tiny bird onto the field. As Aile locked eyes with the Surskit, her body tensed in preparation. “Start things off with Tailwind!” At Louise’s order, Aile sprung into action, flapping her wings and creating a steady gust of wind to ride on.

“Ice Beam!” Viola ordered, to which Surskit immediately unleased the attack. Aile swiftly dived underneath, causing the Ice Beam to strike the ceiling.

“Not again,” Louise hissed under her breath. “Aile, keep low to the ground! We can’t let her hit the ceiling like last time! Swoop down while using Agility!” Aile, heeding Louise’s orders, swooped downwards, dodging yet another Ice Beam. Increasing her velocity as she descended, Aile pulled up right before crashing, speeding a few inches above the ground. Surskit continued to fire beams of ice towards the speeding bird, who nimbly dodged each.

“Quick Attack!” Louise, wanting to press the advantage, ordered. Aile promptly disappeared in a blur as she sped towards the water spider. Surskit leapt out of the way, causing Aile to miss. As the tiny bird swooped around for another pass, Viola squinted her eyes.

“Surskit, use Bubblebeam!” Changing her tactics, Viola shouted out a new order. A beam of bubbles promptly shot out towards the Fletchling, forcing her upwards. With the Bubblebeam trailing her, Aile could only continue to fly up towards the ceiling while avoiding the bubbles. Suddenly, the stream of bubbles ceased, allowing Aile to hover in place as she caught her breath. Aile’s gaze never left the Surskit until a drop of water fell on her head, causing her to shift her attention upwards, only to see an absolutely soaked ceiling.

“Oh, no…,” Louise whispered to herself, already seeing Viola’s next move. As she wrapped her brain around, trying to find a way to stop what was coming, a beam of ice shot out towards a distracted Aile.

“Quick Attack, now!” Louise shouted, copying Tanuki’s move from earlier. Realizing where Louise was going, Aile sped out of the way, barely missing the beam of ice, which created yet another mount of ice on the ceiling. With the ceiling already soaked, the ice quickly spread until it covered its entirety.

‘ _No, no, no!_ ’ Louise clutched her head in worry. ‘ _If she makes it hail again, Aile’s done for! She can’t dodge-!’_ Louise’s eyes widened in realization. If Aile, for all her speed, couldn’t dodge that many shards of ice, then what did that say about the much slower Surskit?

“Surskit, use Sig—” Viola began to order, only to be interrupted by Louise.

“Quick Attack on the ceiling!”

“What!?” Viola shrieked in surprise at Louise’s order. Unable to react, she and Surskit could only watch as Aile sped towards the ceiling, striking it dead center. An ominous crack appeared on the ice, which quickly spread. Unlike last time, Louise was the one who was smirking, while Viola looked on in worry.

“Peck,” Louise simple command, combined with her confident smirk, was all that Aile needed as she jammed her sharp beak into the ice crack, shattering it like glass. The force of the impact made the immediate area around Aile shatter into smaller particles, unable to really hurt her. The same could not be said for the rest of the ice sheet, as large chunks began to rain down onto the arena, buffeting the Surskit as it desperately tried to move itself out of the way. As the hail subsided, Louise observed the still standing Surskit, albeit much wobblier than before. Pushing down the urge to prematurely jump in joy, Louise spied Aile, still hovering high in the air.

“Aile, return,” Louise announced. Aile may be in good condition now, but that might be needed for whatever Viola’s next Pokémon was. “Come on out, Brennaraki!” As Brennaraki emerged onto the field, she gazed at the Surskit intensely, remembering how their last battle went. Surskit defiantly stared back and unleashed a barrage of bubbles towards the rejuvenated fox. Brennaraki leapt to the side, avoiding the bubbles and let loose a fireball towards her opponent. To its credit, Surskit successfully dodged the attack, albeit much slower than before.

“Brennaraki, keep pressing! Box it in with Fire Spin!” Louise yelled, wanting to put this thing it its place once and for all. A fiery vortex soon erupted from Brennaraki’s mouth as it hurtled towards the tired insect, who merely assaulted the vortex with its own bubble barrage. The two attacks canceled each other out, creating a white cloud of steam and obscuring Louise and Brennaraki’s vision.

‘ _Where is it?_ ’ Louise thought as she scanned the arena for a sign of the Surskit. “Brennaraki, keep your eye’s open. Don’t let it catch you off guard.” Brennaraki yipped at Louise’s advice and began to prance around the battlefield, hoping to spot the Surskit still hidden within. As moments passed, the steam refused to dissipate, and Louise grunted in irritation. “Gaagh, use Psywave to get rid of that steam.”

Equally irritated, Brennaraki let loose waves of psychic energy around the cloud of steam. The air disturbed, the cloud finally began to disappear, and Louise smiled at finally being able to see her opponent once more. That smile quickly disappeared as the Surskit revealed itself, holding the largest bubble she had ever seen over its head.

“Move!” Louise barely had time to shout before the bubble exploded into an immeasurable barrage of bubbles, all of which hurtled towards a surprised Brennaraki. The fire fox scarcely had time to react before the beam neared, forcing her to leap away, less she be struck by the powerful attack. As she landed, she broke into a sprint, the beam following right on her heels. Occasionally, Brennaraki would let out an Ember or Psywave, but the attacks either went wide or barely grazed the Surskit. Each attack, however, slowed the Fennekin down slightly more and more, until finally the distance between Brennaraki and the Bubblebeam closed. She was only clipped in the heel, but that was all it took to knock Brennaraki over, sending her skidding across the ground.

“Brennaraki!” Louise yelled out in concern. Her Pokémon quickly tried to get to her feet, only to be blasted back by yet another Bubblebeam. A third was quickly launched towards the prone Pokémon, but before it impacted, Brennaraki let loose a Psywave, intercepting the attack and stopping it cold. Before the Surskit could launch another, Brennaraki let loose another Psywave, striking the Surskit dead center and sending it back.

“Yes!” Louise cheered, only to falter as she took in the sight of her exhausted starter. “Return,” Louise sighed, returning Brennaraki to her Luxury Ball for a much-needed rest. It wouldn’t do much, but every bit would count.

“Let’s finish this, Aile,” Aile let out a cry as she was released over the battlefield, overlooking an exhausted but defiant Surskit. Louise could tell it didn’t have much fight left in it, but it was going to give everything it had. She respected that, but she had a badge to win.

“Aile, find an angle and use Quick Attack!” Still boosted by her previous use of Agility, Aile took off high into the air and circled around the Surskit. Unwilling to let Aile make her move, Surskit attempted to shoot her down with a combination of Signal Beams and Bubblebeams, but her exhaustion, coupled with Aile’s considerable speed, made her miss every time. This did, however, point out an inherent weakness to Aile: Surskit was slow to turn. An opening found, Aile disappeared in a burst of speed as she zoomed towards the Surskit’s back. Seeing the attack coming, Surskit tried to turn, but was unable to do so before Aile struck her from behind, the force of the attack sent her flying into the air. Dazed but still conscious, the Surskit spotted Aile speeding towards her falling body, intending to finish her off. Defiant, the Surskit let loose one last Ice Beam straight towards the speeding bird. Rather than roll away, Aile increased her velocity, using her beak as a plow as the beam struck. With each second eating away at her, Aile plowed through the beam until she finally struck the Surskit in midair, sending both crashing into the ground. Aile, although heavily wounded, was able to pick herself off the ground and hover low in the air. The same could not be said for the Surskit, for one look at its face sent a clear message.

“Surskit is unable to battle!” The referee announced, hoisting a flag in the air. Louise had to forcibly push down the urge to jump in joy, but a small whoop did manage to escape her lips. Quickly recomposing herself, Louise readied for whatever Pokémon Viola would unleash next.

“Come on back, Surskit. You deserve a rest,” Viola sighed as she returned her Pokémon. “I must say, I’m impressed. Turning my own strategy against me… I didn’t expect that from a rookie.”

“It’s something my mother once taught me,” Louise admitted, something she had been doing a lot of lately. “She knew a lot about strategy and taught some to me.” Of course, what her mother’s intentions of that lesson was for how to manipulate other nobles during negotiations, but Viola didn’t need to know that.

“She sounds like a smart woman.”

“She is,” Louise smiled. “You ready?”

“Of course. Come on out, Vivillon!” Viola threw out a Pokéballs and released a large grey moth. Its four equally large wings held a bright pink pattern to them, with grey edges lining the top pair of wings. Not recognizing the Pokémon, Louise quickly took out her Pokédex and noted with relief Viola was allowing her the opportunity to scan it.

“ _Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. Vivillon is the evolved form of Spewpa, and the final evolution of Scatterbug. The pattern on any given Vivillon’s wings depends on where the Pokémon was born. A Vivillon born on an archipelago will exhibit a different wing pattern even if the final evolution occurred on the mainland,_ ” the Pokédex announced. Louise hummed to herself as she took in the Pokémon’s information.

“Bug/Flying type…” Louise whispered to herself as she thought over her options. She could always switch back to Brennaraki, who would now be in a much better situation than against the Surskit. But, she was still resting from the Surskit’s attacks, so bringing her out now might not be for the best. Even still, Aile took a nasty hit before finally putting that insect down. Unsure of what to do, Louise turned towards someone she knew would.

“Aile, are you still good to go?” She asked, to which Aile chirped back confidently. Louise smiled and, with utmost vigor, stretched her arm out towards the Vivillon. “Alright, then! Start things off with Tailwind, then take to the air!”

Aile was already flapping her wings when Louise gave her command, creating a familiar and comforting gust of wind behind her. As she took off into the air, the Vivillon flapped its wings hard, creating a strong gust of wind that buffeted Aile and zeroed out the tailwind.

“What!” Louise shouted, causing Viola to smirk.

“Don’t think I’m going to let you keep using that over and over, again! Vivillon, keep using Gust!” At Viola’s command, the Vivillon began to rapidly flap its wings, creating a seemingly endless windstorm that rocked Aile around.

“Aile, use Quick Attack to get out of there!” Aile quickly carried out Louise’s orders and rocketed away from the heavy winds and towards the edge of the arena. The Vivillon quickly took off after her, sending more and more gusts of wind at the speeding bird. Seeing how Aile was rolling away from the attacks, Vivillon stopped and closed its eyes, a steady purple sheen soon covering its body. Louise would have thought it to be beautiful, were it not for the purple sheen to explode into a concentrated beam of psychic energy, blasting Aile straight into the ground.

“Aile!” Louise shouted as Aile attempted to pick herself back up, only to be blown back by yet another psychic beam. As the Vivillon reared up for another blast, Aile suddenly rocketed forward, striking the Vivillon square in the head and causing the purple sheen to disappear from its body.

“Good job, Aile! Now, use Peck on its head!” Immediately latching onto the Vivillon’s body, Aile began to rapidly peck the offending Pokémon with her sharp beak, each impact rattling the bug’s brain.

“Vivillon, use Struggle Bug!” the Vivillon, now thoroughly mad at the small bird, sharply dived down and slammed Aile to the ground. Dazed, Aile was unable to prevent Vivillon as several green orbs appeared in its mouth before they launched down upon her. Bouncing into the air, Vivillon closed its eyes and attempted to concentrate, only to find her unable to do so. Aile let out a small, pleased chirp at this, her objective accomplished.

“Rattling my Pokémon’s brain to prevent it from using Psybeam, huh?” Viola observed. “Good, but not good enough. Vivillon, use Stun Spore!” Vivillon began to slowly flap its wings, releasing a cloud of yellow spores towards the tired bird. Aile attempted to get out of the way, but was soon enveloped in the cloud, breathing in some of the spores. She began to cough, only for her body to freeze and spasm, causing her to crash into the ground.

“Aile!” Louise cried out, recognizing that her Pokémon was now paralyzed. Aile attempted to pick herself up, only to spasm once again before getting blasted by another gust of heavy wind. Aile skidded across the ground before coming to a halt at Louise’s feet. Aile attempted to get up once again, only to be halted by Louise’s hand.

“No, you’re done,” Louise comforted the exhausted bird, rubbing her hand on Aile’s head. “Sir, I’m retiring Aile.” Louise announced to the referee, who nodded and raised his flag, announcing Aile’s departure. Sighing to herself, Louise returned Aile to her Luxury Ball releasing a slightly rejuvenated Brennaraki out onto the battlefield, eager to avenge her fallen comrade.

“Brennaraki, watch out for Vivillon’s spores,” Louise advised her starter, who nodded in understanding. “Now, Fire Spin!”

As soon as the words left Louise’s mouth, Brennaraki unleased a fiery vortex towards the floating Vivillon. Flying around it, Vivillon threw out another gust of wind at Brennaraki, who nimbly leapt to the side. Still in the air, Brennaraki let loose a wave of psychic energy towards the insect, striking it in the chest and sending it back slightly. Now glaring at the fox, Vivillon was forced to duck underneath a fireball Brennaraki attempted to hit her with.

“Vivillon, use Powder!” Viola ordered. With an expression that was almost like a smirk, Vivillon began to flap its wings, unleashing a cloud of red spores that drifted towards Brennaraki. Attempting to leap out of the way, a gust of wind sent her hurling back, allowing the spores to envelop her. She flinched, preparing for the worst, but when nothing happened both she and Louise breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness. Alright then, Brennaraki! Use Ember!” With a smirk, Brennaraki prepared a fireball in her mouth and launched it towards the grinning insect. Before the fireball even left her mouth, however, Brennaraki suddenly exploded. Yelping in pain, Brennaraki was hurled away by the blast, leaving a trail of cinders in her wake and a dumbfounded Louise.

“What… What just happened?” Louise asked aloud in obvious confusion.

“Powder is a move only Vivillons and certain offspring can learn. When Fire-type attacks ignite the spores, they explode,” Viola explained, a confident smirk on her face. As Brennaraki got to her feet, she growled at the Vivillon in rage, Louise equally infuriated.

“If that’s how you want to play it… Brennaraki, use Psywave!” Brennaraki, at Louise’s order, unleashed a ferocious psychic wave towards the Vivillon. Dodging the blast, Vivillon attempted to attack with Gust, only to get blasted by an unexpected ember to the face. With light smoke rising from its body, Vivillon suddenly flew towards Brennaraki, rolling around another Psywave and tacking Aile to the ground before swooping upwards. Hovering in midair, it began to flap its wings and unleash a cloud of yellow spores toward Brennaraki. Seeing this, she quickly shot off a Fire Spin, causing the spores to ignite in a loud ‘thump’ and left her unaffected. Almost immediately, several green orbs shot down at her. While Brennaraki was able to get off a single Psywave, striking through one orb and the insect behind it, the others all found their mark and knocked her back. Seeing her chance, Vivillon quickly flew down to Brennaraki’s face and flapped a cloud of purple spores over her. Coughing, Brennaraki fired off yet other Psywave, only to stumble slightly as she did.

“Oh no,” Louise paled as she recognized the telling signs of poison. It was only a matter of time now, and Viola knew it. “Brennaraki, we have to finish this now! Use Ember on her!”

“Powder!”

“Switch to Psywave!” Louise hurriedly got out, preventing Brennaraki from repeating the past mistake. As the Psywave shot towards Vivillon, the red powder enveloped her, but without any fire to ignite it, soon harmlessly dissipated into the air.

‘ _Why isn’t she using Powder more?_ ’ Louise thought to herself as she watched Brennaraki and Vivillon continue to exchange attacks, with the fox growing slowly weaker. At the same time, many of Brennaraki’s attacks hit their mark, dealing considerable damage. As Vivillon dodged yet another fireball, only to get buffeted by an explosion from the leftover Powder from earlier, Louise realized that the explosion Powder caused was just as dangerous to Vivillon as it was to Brennaraki, should it happen too close for comfort. Seeing how its effects could be avoided for now, Louise turned her attention towards a much more pressing issue.

‘ _How do I win before Brennaraki succumbs to the poison? How do I stop Viola from inflicting more damage to her?_ ’ Louise wrapped her head around, trying to find a solution, when a thought entered her head. ‘ _Wait… Brennaraki knows Magic Coat…_ ’ Saito had explained magic coat to her before, how it could reflect certain moves back onto the attacker, and if she could time it right…

Her plan set, Louise looked out towards Brennaraki and Vivillon. Both were equally exhausted at this point, but Louise could tell that Brennaraki was only holding on through sheer will at this point.

“Brennaraki, I have a plan! Use Psywave, followed up with Fire Spin!” Struggling to nod at Louise’s command, Brennaraki did as instructed, shooting out a wave of psychic energy towards Vivillon. Barely dodging, Vivillon responded by hurtling a sharp gust of wind towards Brennaraki, who herself stumbled out of its path. The gust knocked some dirt into Brennaraki’s eyes, forcing them shut as she attempted to get the dust out.

‘ _Come on…_ ’ Louise internally begged. If this didn’t work, she was done for.

“Vivillon, use Powder!” At Viola’s order, Louise could barely contain her joy, which multiplied as the cloud of red spores descended towards Brennaraki.

“Yes! Brennaraki, use Magic Coat!”

“She knows what!?” Viola shouted, her eyes widening in panic. Unable to do anything, Viola could only watch as a pink coat covered Brennaraki right before the cloud hit. The spores, upon impacting the coat, reversed direction and homed in on Vivillon’s frantic form, covering her entirely. As the pink coat subsided, Brennaraki opened her blazing eyes and stared at the Vivillon, still covered in the red spores. With one final act, Brennaraki let loose a Fire Spin towards the Vivillon before collapsing to her knees. Too tired to dodge, Vivillon could only brace itself as the vortex connected, simultaneously harming it with its flames and igniting the spores on its body. The ensuing explosion was enormous, sending clouds of dust all around and obscuring everyone’s vision.

“Brennaraki!”

“Vivillon!” The two trainers shouted out in concern, unable to see the status of their Pokémon. As the cloud slowly subsided, the two gasped as they saw the two Pokémon collapsed on the ground, unmoving. Louise started to run out onto the field, only to stop as Brennaraki slowly began to stir. Under a great deal of pain, Brennaraki slowly began to rise, forcing herself to ignore the poison coursing through her. Finally, she triumphantly stood upright and, with a defiant growl, announced her intention to keep going. Vivillon, on the other hand, remained unmoving.

“Vivillon is unable to battle! Louise Valliere is the winner!” Louise could hardly hear the referee’s voice as she stared at the scene. As Saito began to cheer, Louise broke into a triumphant, beaming smile and rushed out onto the arena towards Brennaraki, who turned to give an accomplished grin before collapsing as well. Louise was on her in an instant and began applying a Full Restore to her starter. As her Pokémon recovered, Louise hugged Brennaraki tightly. They had won.

“Good job, Brennaraki,” Louise congratulated her Pokémon.

“I should say the same to you, Miss Valliere,” Viola stated as she walked up to Louise, having already returned Vivillon to her Pokéball. “It is isn’t very often that someone manages to beat me on their second try, much less after being a trainer for such a short amount of time.” Viola was proudly smiling at Louise, who smiled back just as proud.

“I believe this belongs to you,” Viola announced as she pulled out a red metallic case, the symbol of Kalos emblazoned on its lid. “Louise Valliere, it is my honor to present to you the Bug Badge. With this symbol of your victory, you are now capable of moving on to the next level of your Pokémon League challenge,” Louise carefully took the case from Viola’s hands, opening it to see the Bug Badge embedded in velvet inside. Before Louise could thank her, Viola pulled out a single disk.

“In addition, I hereby award you this TM83. It can teach the move Infestation to any Pokémon capable of learning it.” As Louise took the TM from Viola’s hands, a small voice in the back of her mind grumbled at the knowledge that she did not actually buy every TM from the PokéMart Supercenter, but it was quickly silenced.

“I… Thank you, Viola,” Louise smiled and bowed towards the Gym Leader, who smiled back.

“You are very welcome, Louise. Now come on, let’s get your Pokémon checked out.”

* * *

 

“So, how does it feel to be a Badge holder,” Saito asked in the confines of Louise’s room. After the battle, the three had immediately headed to the Pokémon Center to heal their Pokémon.

“Amazing, honestly,” Louise proudly admitted, holding her badge aloft as she inspected it. “With this, I’m one step closer to accomplishing my goal, and it proves that I have what it takes.”

“Yeah, yeah it does,” Saito fondly remembered when he finally won his Basic Badge. Louise had to be feeling the exact same way. He was almost envious. “So, where to now?”

“Easy, actually,” Louise put the badge away and stood up, walking to the balcony. “I’m going back to Lumiose. Not only do I need to visit Professor Sycamore, I also know that there is a Gym there. I heard they specialize in Electric-Types?”

“That is correct,” Saito replied. “I’m heading up there myself next to challenge the Gym Leader. It’s where I was going originally, before I met up with you.”

“I see,” Louise replied before pausing to think. “… Hey, Saito?”

“Yeah?”

“…If you want… I’d be willing to allow you to travel up to Lumiose with me.”

“Really?” Saito clasped his hands behind his head. “You’d ‘allow’ me to?”

“Yes,” Louise huffed, slightly embarrassed. “It is a privilege to travel with a noble such as myself. You should be honored.”

“I supposed ‘getting poisoned because of you’ is also an honor?” Saito remarked with a playful smirk, to which Louise glared. Laughing at her expression, Saito held up his hands in a placating manner. “Relax, I’m just joking. To answer your question, I don’t see why not. I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you,” Louise replied with a smile. Thinking it over, she held out her hand, offering it to Saito, who after a moment grasped it with his own.

[~][~]  



	16. Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito travel down Route 4 on their way to Lumiose, only to run into a collector with no sense of personal hygiene on the hunt for a rare and lonely Ralts.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 1**

* * *

 

The morning after her victory, Louise and Saito began the trip back up Route 4 towards Lumiose. Luckily, thanks to Saito knowing what he was doing, they were making much more progress than Louise did on the way down. That wasn’t to say there weren’t any problems.

“Founder, I hate these things,” Louise grumbled as she attempted to slap a mosquito away, sweat drenching her brow. It was much hotter than it was when she first came through, and now the mosquitoes, flies, and various other insects made their presence much more pronounced than before.

“Have to agree with you, there,” Saito agreed, pulling out a small aerosol and spraying it on his body. Seeing Louise’s confused look, Saito held out the can towards her. “Repel. Keeps wild animals, insects, and Pokémon away. Want some?”

“Thank you,” Louise quickly took the can and began spraying it on her. As she hastily sprayed herself, Louise accidentally got some of the spray going into her mouth, causing her to drop the can and sputter. “Gagh! Founder, that’s disgusting!” Louise started glaring at Saito when he started chuckling.

“Yeah, I’ve done that a few times,” Saito shook his head in sympathy. Kneeling to pick up the discarded can, he again offered it to his companion, only for her to politely wave it away. With an understanding nod, Saito placed the spray can back into his bag and began to walk forward, with Louise quickly following him.

“So…,” Louise began, “what can you tell me about the Lumiose Gym?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” Saito shrugged. “At least in terms of what Pokémon he’ll use. I do know that the Gym Leader is a guy named Clemont Lem. Apparently, he’s some kind of inventor.”

“Huh, makes sense,” Louse imagined an old, bearded man in a workshop, tinkering away at various tools in a shed somewhere and nodded. Before she could speak up again, however, she stopped as a faint noise came over them. Saito, having heard the noise, stopped as well.

“Did you hear that?” Saito began, confused and his hand hovering slightly near his Pokéballs.

“Yeah, I heard it too,” Louise admitted, echoing Saito’s movements. The noise came over them once again, this time louder. She could almost make out some shouting. “I think…there are people over there.”

“I think you’re right,” Saito narrowed his eyes and, with a shrug turned to leave, only to notice Louise still standing still, rooted in place. “Louise, you coming?”

“… I think we should check it out,” Louise declared, still staring out towards where the noise was coming from. “Someone might be in trouble.”

“Louise, I hate to burst your bubble,” Louise was slightly confused at the idiom used but said nothing, “but I’m pretty those aren’t sounds of distress.”

“Well, maybe I’m just curious,” Louise huffed and began walking forward, leaving Saito behind. “I’m going to go check it out. You do whatever you want.” As Saito remained standing in place, he sighed and rubbed his brow in exasperation before following. Catching up to her quickly, the two released Brennaraki and Ronin from their respective balls. It wasn’t long until the sounds became clearer, and as Saito had said, they weren’t sounds of distress.

“Find it yet?”

“No!”

“Not over here!”

“Keep looking!” A small group of people shouted over each other as they searched every nook and cranny of a small area.

“Saito?” Louise stared in bewilderment at the scene. “Any idea what’s going on here?”

“I think…those are collectors…” Saito, echoing his partner, stared out at the scene. It appeared that none of the collectors had noticed them yet, and even if they did, they were so engrossed in their search of…whatever it is they were searching for that they might not have even cared. Louise’s expression darkened at this, her mind going back to the last collector she had met.

“Collectors… Great,” Louise grumbled. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Agreed,” Saito nodded and turned to leave, only to stop as someone noticed them and walked over.

“Hey, you two,” the man demanded. As she stomped over, Louise was able to get a much better look at him. He was a boy around her age, unkempt in appearance. His shirt was tucked in raggedly, his hair a greasy mop as if it hadn’t been cared for in days. The ends of his jeans were frayed, his shoes covered in dirt and mud. He emitted the foulest odor Louise had ever experienced, to the point where she and Saito almost gagged. But what was most striking to Louise were his eyes. His eyes were the most focused she had ever seen, and in contrast to the rest of his appearance, his Pokéballs were all shiny and pristine.

“…Can we help you?” Saito tentatively asked the collector.

“What do you want?” Louise barked, much less curt than her partner.

“Either of you seen a Ralts?” The collector demanded. Louise and Saito looked at each other, confused, before Louise finally spoke up.

“A Ralts?”

“A Ralts. Foot tall, white body, green head with pink horns.”

“We know what a Ralts is,” Saito explained as Louise internally shuddered at a foul memory. “And no, we haven’t seen one.” The collector hmphed and turned to leave.

“Why do you care?” Louise demanded, halting the collector in his tracks. Turning around, he stared Louise in the face, causing her to flinch back from the smell.

“For your information,” the collector started to rant, “Ralts are among the rarest of all Pokémon species. Most people never see one in the wild, much less catch one. A few days ago, a Ralts was spotted in this area, and it belongs to _me_.”

“So, you are a collector,” Louise scowled.

“And proud of it,” if the collector noticed, he didn’t or it. Or maybe he did and just didn’t care, Louise couldn’t tell. “That Ralts would be a great addition to my collection. I’ve been out here for days—”

“Oh, we can tell that…” Saito whispered to Louise, making her giggle slightly.

“—all just to find one. I’ve searched every corner of these woods, and now that one has finally been seen, I’m not going to let it slip from my grasp. So, if either of you see it, stay away from it. Because that Ralts is mine.”

“What about those people?” Louise pointed towards the rest of the Pokémon trainers, to which the collector huffed in annoyance.

“Them? Please. This is the fifth group that’s come and gone in the past day alone. Everyone else, they all just gave up and left. Not me,” the collector declared with a glint in his eye.

“Louise let’s just—” Saito began, only to be interrupted by Louise.

“Why do you want this Ralts? Really, why do you want it?” Louise stomped up to the collector, barreling straight past Saito and quickly cutting him off. “Status? Fame? Or is it as shallow as simply placing it on your belt?” Louise’s voice dripped with venom, so much so that the group of people around them paused what they were doing and glanced in their direction, some with thoughtful expressions on their faces. The collector, meanwhile, grew red with rage.

“Now you listen here,” the collector pointed at Louise, who promptly swatted it away from her. “Don’t lecture me on what Pokémon I can or cannot catch, nor my reasons for doing so. I want the Ralts, so I’m going to catch it. End of story,” before the situation could escalate further, Saito placed himself between the two, holding them apart.

“Louise, come on. Let’s go,” Saito pushed Louise back, away from the stewing collector. In a huff, Louise sharply turned around and began to walk away from the clearing.

“By the way, you interested in trading that female, shiny Fennekin?” the collector called out to Louise, stopping her in her tracks. Brennaraki growled and huddled close to Louise as she turned to look at the collector, her eyes blazing.

“There is _nothing_ you nor anyone else could offer me that would make me give Brennaraki up, so don’t even try.” At that, Louise stomped away fuming, a confused Saito quickly following her and leaving the collector behind.

* * *

 

“Can you believe that guy?!” Louise continued to rant. The two of them had decided that, after that encounter, they were in no mood to continue traveling. Apparently, though, Louise was in the mood to rant about the collector and what he was doing and had been doing so for the past half hour.

“Honestly! He thinks he can just _declare_ a Pokémon is his just because he wants it?! How shallow is he?! I doubt that Ralts would even _want_ to be with a guy like that, all greasy and unkempt! I—” Louise cut herself off with a dry cough, her ranting finally catching up to her.

“Here, drink,” Saito offered a bottle of water towards the rosette, who silently took it. As she continued to drink in silence, Saito clasped his hands together. “So… Want to talk about it?”

“… About what?” Louise grumbled as she continued to drink.

“Oh, I don’t know. How you completely went off on a guy not half an hour ago for being a collector?” At Saito’s declaration, Louise clenched her fist.

“What’s there to talk about?” Louise replied through clenched teeth.

“Okay, look. I get it. You do not like collectors. That does not mean you get to antagonize a guy like that. Outside of a noticeable lack of any knowledge of basic hygiene, he did nothing to us.”

“That’s not the point,” Louise tersely replied. “He’s treating Pokémon like they’re just objects. Like that Ralts is just a thing that meant to be shown off, with no care towards it outside of his own needs.”

“…this isn’t about the Ralts, is it?” Saito observing, stunning Louise into silence. Taking her silence as a ‘yes’, Saito nodded. “Want to talk about it?” Louise sighed at his question and looked down.

“Do you remember how back home, I was a failure of a mage? How my family had given up on me?”

“…Yeah, yeah, I do,” Saito patiently waited for Louise to continue.

“Well…it wasn’t just that they had given up on me. When they stopped my magic lessons, they…they replaced them with marital lessons.”

“Marital lessons?” Saito eyes widened in realization. “You mean…?”

“Unlike here, or among the commoners back home, nobles don’t marry for love,” Louise quietly explained, answering Saito’s unspoken question. “Most, if not all marriages among the nobility marry in pre-arranged marriages. People who have never even met before are suddenly forced to marry, even if they despise each other.”

“That’s what your family planned for you?” Saito slowly realized, to which Louise nodded.

“To their credit, they tried to set me up with someone I could potentially live a happy life with. Cushy, comfortable. But with my apparent lack of magical ability, I’d be relegated to the background. My life would become a gilded cage.”

“But you didn’t want that.”

“No, I didn’t. I _wanted_ to prove myself so badly. I put myself through all that torment just to prove to everyone, my teachers, my classmates, my family, myse—” Louise stopped herself. “… I had to prove that I just as much of a noble as everyone else was. You already know how I tried…”

“…That’s why you berated that collector so much,” Saito realized. “It wasn’t so much him, but rather the concept of what he was doing hit too close to home.”

“…Yeah,” Louise said as she pulled out Brennaraki’s Luxury Ball. “Might be one of the reasons why Brennaraki and I bonded so quickly. I understood exactly where she was coming from, as she did to me. Her desire to battle, yet others only wanting her for her rarity. My desire to be recognized as a mage, yet unable to do so and fated to be wedded off.

“That’s why I despise the concept of Pokémon collecting. Both collector’s I’ve met so far have shown no concern for their target, only wanting them for their own ends and ignoring their desires. Had I failed my summoning, that would have been my fate.” As Louise grew silent, relieved to get that off her chest, Saito nodded in understanding.

“It also didn’t hurt that the guy was absolutely repulsive,” Louise quipped, causing Saito to chuckle.

“Yeah, he kind of was, wasn’t he,” Saito replied with a smile, which Louise echoed. Standing up, Saito brushed himself. “Well, enough sappiness for now. How about we get some training in? Still got half a day left, and we’ve got nothing better to do.” With a smile, Louise stood up as well, eager for a challenge.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

* * *

 

When night fell upon Route 4, and the light of the full moon shone brightly above, the forest went quiet. Outside of the chittering of nocturnal Spinaraks, Hoothoots, and other Pokémon of the night, it was tranquil.

That tranquility was shattered as a small Pokémon frantically burst from the forest, running away from her pursuer.

_‘I have to get out of here,’_ the Pokémon internally panicked as she sought a way out of her predicament. This human had been apparently tracking her for days, and a quick look at his mind told her she wanted nothing to do with him. So far, he had only proven her to be correct.

“Munchlax, use Odor Sleuth and find that Ralts!” the voice shouted out, causing the Ralts in question to pale and quicken her pace. The last thing she wanted was to be caught by that man, and this desire motivated her past the point of exhaustion. And after several days of running away and hiding, both from the human and others like him, she was exhausted.

As she burst through the bushes into a small clearing, a foul odor swarmed her senses, halting her in her tracks. Clutching her nose, she looked out to find two small structures, one blue and one pink, lying in the clearing, a small burnt-out fire in between them. A quick observation revealed the stench was a concentrated in a sort of ring around the camp, likely to keep out any wild Pokémon. As the Ralts contemplated turning back, she heard a sound come in from behind her. A quick psychic look confirmed the source to be the human and his Munchlax, hot on her heels. With no other options, she forced herself through the odor ring. The stench was so foul, it seemed to be physically pushing her back, but the Ralts forced herself to fight through it. After what seemed like an eternity, the Ralts finally made it through the ring, freeing herself of the odor’s effects.

After taking a moment to collect herself, the Ralts quickly ran behind pink structure to hide. Not a moment too soon, as the human and the Munchlax then ran out into the clearing, trying to find her.

“Where is she?” the human whispered, not wanting to wake up the people sleeping inside, if only to assure his quarry. The Munchlax attempted to smell her out, only to smell the foul odor instead. As the small bear clutched his noses, the Ralts’ eyes widened in realization. The odor, in addition to keeping out the Munchlax, and therefore the human, it was also masking her scent.

“Aagh, stupid Repel,” the human hissed.

_‘So that’s what it’s called…’_ the Ralts mused as she peeked out from behind the tent.

“Forget it, it’s not here. That Repel must have forced it away. Idiots…,” the human kicked the ground and clenched his fist. “Come on, Munchlax. Let’s keep searching.” The Munchlax barked in affirmation, and the two soon departed, leaving the Ralts alone.

‘ _Thank goodness,_ ’ the Ralts sighed in relief as she began to look around. With the human and his Munchlax tracker gone, she could always simply go the other way. At the same time, however, she did not want to have to go through that ‘Repel’ ring again.

_‘…I guess this place is fine,_ ’ the Ralts sighed to herself. _‘At least these humans seem to be nicer than that other human. Now, where do I sleep?’_ the Ralts began to look around the campsite, trying to find a safe place to sleep, only to see a small opening in the pink structure. Deep down, the Ralts knew she should not go in, knowing that there might be a human inside, but a deep curiosity compelled her to venture forth. A quick peek confirmed that there was a human inside, a pink haired female by the look of her fur. Luckily, she, and the purple Fennekin she was cuddling with inside of a shiny bag, were sound asleep.

_‘Alright, here goes nothing…_ ’ the Ralts thought to herself as she lightly stepped into the structure. Passing through, she quickly noted how insulated the structure was from the outside world. The cold night air didn’t seem to be here, and with the emitted body heat of the human and Fennekin, it was comfortably warm. How the structure did it, she did not know, but regardless it was a nice reprieve. A quick poke at the bag revealed it to be quite squishy, almost as if it was hollow, not to mention smooth.

_‘Interesting…’_ the Ralts continued to poke the strange bag, only to stop as the human stir. The Ralts held her breath, lest she risk waking the human and Pokémon up from their slumber, and after several tense seconds the human went still. Letting out a sigh of relief, the Ralts turned to remove herself from the structure, only for a sweet smell to catch her attention. Turning towards its source, she found it to be coming out of a large pink bag. Slowly creeping her way towards it, consciously making sure to make as little noise as possible, the Ralts found the smell to be coming out of a slightly open container with strange metal teeth, a weird tag holding them together. Taking hold of it, she slowly moved it to the side, cringing at the sound it was making, until finally it was completely open.

Reaching in, she carefully started feeling around for whatever might be the source of the smell. The first thing she pulled out was a squishy container that she normally found around sludge ponds, although this one was filled with much clearer water then she normally found them with. Setting it off to the side, she then pulled out a metal cylinder with a picture of a Grepa berry on it. Strangely, despite the image, it was filled with some kind of liquid, judging by the sound it made when she shook it. Shrugging off her confusion, Ralts sat it besides the clear container and reached back in and pulled a boxy red thing, and after a moment of examination Ralts gently sat it on the ground next to the two objects found earlier. Turning her attention back to the opening, she could still smell something from the hole. Whatever was causing it, she could only reach it after she lowered her upper body into the hole.

_‘Oran Berries! My favorite!’_ the Ralts thought as she hungrily grabbed the small bundle of Orans that were wrapped in clear coating. After a moment of flailing that knocked the bag onto its side, she managed to remove herself from it and held the berries in front of her victoriously with a quiet cry. Her victory was short lived as she was quickly stumped as to how to remove the berries from the package. Grabbing it on one side with her hands and the other side with her psychic mind, she gave a quick, harsh pull on both ends, but the package suddenly gave way with a ripping sound and ended up throwing the berries all around the area and Ralts onto her back as she lost her footing.

Groaning in muted surprise, Ralts remained on her back for a moment before pushing herself to her feet. She started looking for where the berries went only to freeze as she saw two pairs of eyes poking out of the bag’s opening, staring right at her.

_‘Uh oh.’_

* * *

 

_“Oh, Louise! I’m so sorry for how I treated you!” Kirche groveled before Louise, the rest of the Academy echoing her. “You are obviously a mage, the greatest of our time! I see that now!”_

_“Yes, yes I am,” Louise beamed, her arms crossed and her Pokémon all standing around her. To her right stood Brennaraki, now a majestic Delphox, taller than Louise herself. On her shoulder sat Aile, preening herself. Her other four Pokémon all stood around her as well, each cloaked in shadow._

_“Will you ever forgive us?!” Guiche begged, going down to his knees and clasping his hands. At seeing one of her tormentors beg, Louise’s smile widened, her eyes filled with mirth._

_“As a noble,” Louise began._

_“The most noble of us all!” a voice from the back shouted out._

_“Of course,” Louise nodded in agreement. “As the most noble person here—” a strange, rustling sound came over the crowd, causing Louise to halt mid-speech. After a moment, she continued. “Anyway, as the most noble person here, it is my right to decide whether or not to forgive you._

_“After many months of thought, and by the grace of the founder—” Louise felt a poke on her foot. Looking down, she saw nothing. Annoyed, she shrugged and carried on. “… I have decided that—” another noise, like that of a zipper opening. “That’s it, who’s making that noise!”_

_“Probably the creature that snuck into your tent,” Tabitha plainly answered, reading her ever present book._

_“The what?”_

And then Louise woke up.

“Huh?” Louise shook herself as opened her eyes, back inside her expensive tent and not the familiar grounds of the Tristainian Academy.

‘ _Just a dream…’_ Louise sighed to herself, slightly disappointed. Turning her head, she moved to go back to sleep, only for a gust of wind to keep her awake.

_‘Stupid wind… Wait a minute.’_ Louise’s eyes opened wide as she looked towards the tent’s door, only to find it slightly open. _‘I forgot to fully zip it up…’_ Louise realized, mildly panicked. Looking around, she noticed a small form sticking out of her bag. Unable to fully see exactly what the Pokémon was, she quietly nudged Brennaraki awake. As she did, Brennaraki groggily moved to glare at Louise, only to hear the intruder as her bag fall over and go on alert. Just as Louise’s eyes adjusted to the lack of light did the Pokémon finally disentangle itself from the bag and began examining the small package that they managed to fish out of the bag did Louise recognized it as a Ralts.

‘ _It’s…’_ Louise and Brennaraki silently watched as the Ralts attempted to tear into the package, only to fall back with a small cry as the package suddenly gave way, spraying the small berries around the tent. _‘…adorable.’_ Louise internally squeed at the sighted, Brennaraki looking at her trainer with a hint of jealousy. That jealously turned went away as the Ralts turned towards them, a look of surprise on its face as it realized that they saw her.

“Uh…” Louise slowly sat upright, Brennaraki hopping in front of her defensively. The Ralts began to shake in panic or terror, Louise couldn’t quite tell. She could tell, however, that it looked like it wanted to bolt, but was instead frozen stiff. Sympathy rising, Louise raised her hands upward.

“Hi there,” she softly whispered to the Ralts, who continued to shake. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you. See?” Louise softly nudged Brennaraki who, with a slight glare, backed down from her defensive posture. Slowly, the Ralts began to stop shaking and, although trying to make herself distant, remained in the tent.

“I’m going to get out of my sleeping bag now, okay? Is that alright with you?” Louise soothed the scared creature who, after a moment of consideration, nodded its head. Smiling, Louise removed herself from the confines of the sleeping bag until she was finally free. She then maneuvered herself to the Ralts and sat down, curling her legs underneath her as a seat.

“Oh, where are my manners. My name is Louise,” Louise held out her hand. When she was still with Professor Sycamore, she had read up on the Ralts and learned that, even when compared to other Pokémon species, they were exceptionally intelligent. Some were even smarter than people, amazingly, and she hoped that to be the case here.

Recognizing the gesture for what it was, the Ralts began to calm down and slowly walk towards the outstretched hand. After gazing at it, the Ralts cautiously grasped one of Louise’s fingers with its own hand and together shook their arms up and down.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ralts,” Louise smiled at the adorable sight. Looking down at the package that the Ralts managed to rip open, she saw that it was the small package of Oran Berries that she bought in town. With a knowing smirk, she looked back down on the Ralts. “Hungry, huh?” At her question, the Ralts slowly nodded its head, embarrassed.

“Here,” Louise picked out an Oran Berry and held it to the Ralts. Its face morphed into one of confusion and hope, and as it looked at Louise’s face she smiled. “Take it, I have plenty.” Hungrily, the Ralts took hold of the Oran Berry and began to slowly eat it, savoring each bite. Apparently, this Ralts loved Oran Berries, Louise noted with mild amusement. Curiosity bubbling up, Louise pulled out her Pokédex, causing the Ralts to stop mid bite.

“It’s a Pokédex. I scan you with it and it tells me what you are. See?” Louise pointed the Pokédex towards the Ralts and activated the scan function.

“ _Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. Ralts are native to the Hoenn region and uses its horns as psychic amplifiers to both attack and read the emotions of people and Pokémon,”_ the Pokedex’s voice quietly rang out.

“See, perfectly harmless,” Louise smiled at the Ralts, who had walked over to look at her image on the Pokédex, eating the Oran Berry all the while. As it continued to eat, Louise turned her attention towards the open tent and her eyes narrowed.

“So,” Louise began to ask, her attention never leaving the tent door, “what brings you to my tent?” At Louise’s question, the Ralts stopped its eating. After a silent moment, a series of images began to enter Louise’s mind.

_‘Oh right, psychic,’_ Louise noted, after a bit of momentary confusion, as the images began to flash across. It wasn’t as good as actual word, but it conveyed the message’s meaning nonetheless. The images told a story of a young Ralts, living alone, hiding from people who would take her away. As a familiar collector entered the frame, Louise growled.

‘ _Him…’_ Louise angrily thought, with the Ralts, hearing her thoughts like spoken words, nodding in agreement. “Do you know where he is?” at Louise’s question, the Ralts turned around and walked out of the tent. After placing a pair of pink slippers on her feet, Louise followed, careful not to wake Saito up. As she emerged from her tent, she saw the Ralts standing in front of the firepit, pointing out into the bushes.

“He went that way?” the Ralts nodded. Louise cupped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers. “Alright then, guess we’re going this way,” Louise declared, pointing in the opposite direction. The Ralts gasped and looked up at her in a great deal of confusion.

“What? It’s not like I’m going to let you get caught by that jerk,” Louise smiled and held out her hand. “Especially when you don’t want to.” At Louise’s declaration, the Ralts grew silent before tears began to form. Shaking them off, she happily walked up and grabbed Louise’s hand, who began to lead them out of the camp site. As they reached, the edge, however, the Ralts suddenly stopped and let go, refusing to follow Louise further.

“What is it?” Louise asked, confused. Upon noticing both Brennaraki and Ralt’s expressions, with the Ralts clutching her nose, the answer became clear.

“Oh right, the Repel. Okay, uhm…give me a sec while I think of something.”

* * *

 

The solution turned out to be returning Brennaraki to her Luxury Ball and tying a bandana round Ralt’s face. It didn’t fully succeed in keeping out the Repel’s effects, it got the job done. As the trio continued to walk away from the campsite, the Ralts stared up at Louise.

“ _So, got a name?_ ” Brennaraki asked as she bounded up to the Ralt’s side.

‘ _Huh? What do you mean’_ using her psychic abilities, the Ralts asked the Fennekin.

“ _Well, for starters, my name is Brennaraki.”_

_‘But…you’re a Fennekin?’_

_“Yes, but my name is Brennaraki. Louise gave it to me,”_ Brennaraki nodded her head towards her trainer. _“Didn’t want to keep calling me by my species’ name. Humans are weird like that, but I like the name so I’m fine with it.”_

_‘That…kind of makes sense. I’m just Ralts. Don’t really have a name like yours or…Louise, correct?’_

_“Yeah, that’s her name. She’s my trainer, and I’m her starter.”_ Brennaraki smiled.

_‘Huh,’_ the Ralts cupped her chin. _‘Forgive me, but I’m curious.’_

_“No kidding?”_

_‘Oh, you be quiet,’_ Ralts lightly admonished Brennaraki. _‘Anyway, what exactly…are you guys doing?’_

_“Well, we’re trying to beat the Pokémon League and become the Champions.”_

_‘Pokémon…League?’_

_“A big Pokémon Battling tournament the humans hold every year. To get in, we must get eight badges to qualify, then battle a bunch of really strong humans leading Pokémon until we become the Champions.”_

_‘Sounds…violent.’_

_“… Yeah, kinda, but that’s not really the point. The point is that everyone gets to prove just how strong they are. That they deserve to be there, both to others and themselves.”_

_‘Which one is Louise more concerned about?’_

_“…What?”_ Brennaraki asked, her eyes narrowed.

_‘I didn’t mean to intrude but, when I was showing Louise those pictures earlier, I got a peak into her mind.’_

_“You looked into her mind?!”_

_‘Not on purpose! The door was wide open, and when I realized what I was looking at I immediately turned away. I’m sorry!’_

_“…okay, fine. What’s done is done,”_ Brennaraki huffed in annoyance. _“…What did you see?”_

_‘I saw…flashes, really. Memories, I think. A castle, laughing humans, a white room, meeting you. That last one was the happiest one for her, but the ones before that…weren’t.’_ At Ralt’s observation, Brennaraki sighed.

_“It’s not really my place to tell you, it’s hers,”_ Brennaraki admitted. _“I will say that she has a need to prove herself, and I am with her til the end. Anything else, you’ll have to ask her.”_

_‘Oh…okay,’_ Ralts quietly replied. The conversation ended, the three continued their walk in silence. Ralts, feeling guilty, moved to apologize once again, only for Louise’s voice to ring out.

“I think we’re good,” Louise placed her hands on her hips. Looking around, she turned towards the Ralts and kneeled to look her face to face. “This should be far enough from any of those collectors, okay. It was nice meeting you, Ralts.” Louise smiled and held out her hand once again. This time, the Ralts shook it with much less hesitation.

“Come on, Brennaraki,” Louise beckoned to her starter, who bounded up to her smiling. As the two began to walk away, back towards their camp, Ralts looked on, a pang of sadness entering her heart.

_‘I wish I had that…’_ Once the two disappeared, Ralts sighed and turned to walk the other way, only for a noise to stop her in her tracks. Turning around, she smiled, thinking that Louise and Brennaraki had returned, only to see she was alone. Another voice erupted, this time from another direction, and turning quickly she attempted to find its source. As the sound came up once again, Ralts slowly looked up to the treetops, only to see a dark, feathery form staring down at her with alert eyes. Her eyes widened as she recognized the creature as one of the other human’s Pokémon team, and as it flew off to gather its trainer, Ralts turned and ran towards the direction Louise and Brennaraki walked off to.

* * *

 

“Do you think I did the right thing?” Louise asked her starter as they continued their walk. “I mean, it would have been nice to catch it, but that would have been hypocritical of me, wouldn’t it?” At Louise’s question, Brennaraki merely shrugged.

“I guess you’re right,” Louise sighed. “Well, at the very least Ralts is safe and hap—” a small form erupting from the bushes cut Louise off. Sharply turning around, Louise saw the Ralts from before, now clearly panicked.

“Ralts?! What’s wrong?” Louise attempted to comfort the Ralts, who coward behind her legs. Images flashed into her mind, that of the collector and a strange Pokémon she had never seen before. Putting two and two together, Louise pulled Aile’s Luxury Ball out of her pajama pocket while Brennaraki got into a combat ready stance. Soon enough, a small green bear erupted out of the bushes, running after the Ralts, only to stop once it saw her. Not recognizing the creature, Louise immediately pulled out her Pokédex.

“ _Munchlax, the Big Eater Pokémon. Munchlaxes are among the most prolific eaters of the Pokémon world, and spend up to ninety percent of the day eating. They are capable of digesting most anything,_ ” the Pokédex revealed as it scanned the Normal-type Pokémon. Her eyes narrowed as the scan revealed it to be a registered Pokémon, and it wasn’t hard for her to guess its owner.

“Munchlax, you find it yet?” a familiar voice called out. “Munchlax?” the owner’s voice rang out as he got closer to the group. Finally, he burst out from the bushes, confirming his identity to Louise: it was the same collector as before. Judging by even more disheveled appearance than before, he must have spent all night tracking Ralts down. The heavy bags under his eyes revealed a total lack of sleep, but even then, upon seeing Louise they narrowed. “Oh, _you_.”

“What are you doing here?” Louise venomously asked. In response, the collector crossed his arms.

“None of your—” the collector stopped as he spotted the green head of the Ralts cowering behind Louise. “Hey! That Ralts is mine!”

“Don’t you see she doesn’t want to go with you!?” Louise shouted. “Just leave and find a different Ralts! One that can somehow stand your-uhgh-smell,” Louise clutched her nose as the man’s stench finally reached her nose, attempting to waft it away.

“Why you little-!” the collector grew red with rage. “I don’t care what it thinks! Get out of the way!”

“Or _what_?” Louise asked, her eyes dagger-like slits glaring at the man. Instead of answering, he grew silent before quickly nodding his head. Louise only had a moment of confusion before a sharp sound erupted from beside her. Ducking down, she grasped Ralts in her arms and dived out of the way as a feathery Pokémon swooped down towards the small green and white Pokémon. Brennaraki, incensed at the danger his trainer was in, fired off an Ember towards the creature, finding her mark, only to find it did nothing. As she got to her feet, Louise let go of Ralts, who ran behind her in fear, and pulled out her Pokédex.

“ _Archen, the First Bird Pokémon. Archen once thrived millions of years ago but are now extinct. Thanks to Devon Corporation innovations, scientists were able to bring the extinct creature back to the modern world from fossils of its plumage. It is the earliest recorded feathered Flying-type Pokémon in history, but it could only glide from the branches of the trees it lived in.”_

_‘They brought back a fossil to life!’_ Louise stared wide-eyed at the Pokédex. The collector, rather than use her distraction to try and get Ralts away, looked smug at seeing his Pokémon get scanned.

“You have a Pokédex, I see. Here, let me help you fill it out,” with his intent to show off his collection obvious, he tossed out another Pokéball, revealing a plump, pink fairy with a happy expression on its face. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction but needing to know what she was about to face, Louise reluctantly pulled out her Pokédex and activated its scan function.

“ _Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon. Clefairy’s rarity is well known and as such is highly sought after by trainers and collectors alike. It was previously assumed to be a Normal-type Pokémon, but recent research has resulted in its reclassification to a Fairy-type,”_ Louise frowned at this, but silently released Aile from her Luxury Ball. At first, Aile was groggy and irritated, but upon seeing the opposing Pokémon quickly snapped to attention.

“ _Okay, what I miss?”_ Aile asked, hovering in place.

“ _That sleaze ball over there,”_ Brennaraki pointed to the collector, “ _is trying to catch her,”_ Ralts waved at Aile, “ _and we’re stopping him.”_

_“… Okay then.”_ Aile narrowed her eyes at the collector.

“Leave. Her. Alone,” Louise growled at the collector, who glared at her.

“Give me that Ralts. Last chance,” at the collector’s demand, Louise narrowed her eyes.

“No.” A heavy silence descended over the path, both trainers and Pokémon glaring at each other, Ralts still cowering behind Louise’s leg. After a pregnant pause, the silence broke.

“Aile, Tailwind! Brennaraki, Fire Spin!”

“Munchlax, Rollout! Archen, Smack Down!”

At their trainer’s command, the Pokémon descended into a brawl, charging at each other. Aile, with powerful flaps of her wings, created a gust of wind from behind while Brennaraki released a fiery vortex. The Archen leapt over the Fire Spin at Aile and opened its mouth. A small, golden orb formed before shooting out at the small bird. As it neared, Aile dived below it before it violently exploded, the shockwave barely ruffling her feathers. Meanwhile, the Munchlax curled up into a ball and launched itself towards Brennaraki, who dodged to the side before firing a Psywave into its rolling form. As it skidded across the ground, Brennaraki fired another Fire Spin towards the downed creature, engulfing it in flames.

Archen and Aile, meanwhile, entered a sort of dogfight. Aile, much nimbler, was able to dodge the Archen’s leaps, who was unable to take flight. Seeing how it wasn’t working, Archen paused and focused until four small stones lifted from the ground around its head. After a few moments, they were launched towards Aile in succession. The first who she dodged easily, the third just barely, but the fourth struck her directly. With a pained squawk, Aile crashed onto the ground. Her attempts to get back up were quickly met stopped as the Archen smacked her down with its wing. As it attempted to do so again, it was suddenly struck by a Psywave launched by Brennaraki, who had come to rescue her comrade.

“Girls, switch targets!” the two Pokémon immediately complied, Brennaraki staying on the Archen while Aile sped towards the Munchlax. The Archen managed to pick itself up rather quickly and fixed its attention towards the fire fox that blindsided it. Annoyed, Archen launched itself towards Brennaraki with a blinding fast swipe of its wing. Too fast to be dodged, Brennaraki took the hit and skidded back, never leaving her feet. Growling, Brennaraki formed an Ember in her mouth and launched it at the Archen, who took it with nary a scratch. Seeing how her Fire-type attacks were ineffective, Brennaraki switched to Psywave, firing off multiple waves of energy towards the Archen. It attempted to dodge, but the attacks found their mark and sent it flying off into a bush. Aile, in the meantime, focused on the Munchlax, flying over its attempts to hit her. With a combination of Quick Attacks and Pecks, Aile dive bombed the Munchlax repeatedly, who was unable to effectively counterattack.

“Dammit!” the collector yelled out in frustration as Archen returned to the battlefield.

“Let me guess,” Louise smugly called out, “your team is so focused on catching Pokémon you can’t actually- Where’s the Clefairy?” Louise yelled out as she noticed a distinct reduction in pink. Turning around, she saw the Clefairy behind her, that smile now sinister.

“Clefairy, use Sing!” the collector confidently called out. Brennaraki immediately fired off an Ember towards the Clefairy, but it merely took the hit as it began to sing. As it’s soothing voice rang out over the battlefield, intense drowsiness engulfed the participants. Aile went down immediately, falling into a deep sleep, while Brennaraki fell soon after with a light snore.

‘ _Must…keep…awa…’_ Louise struggled to remain awake before succumbing to the siren’s song and fell asleep. Ralts, having used her psychic abilities to keep itself conscious while her body fell asleep, was now defenseless as the collector and his Pokémon all stared at her, a look of accomplishment on their faces.

“Good job, Clefairy,” the collector, taking out his ear plugs, sincerely congratulated his Pokémon, who smiled in at its accomplishment. The other Pokémon began shaking their earplugs out as well, relieved at the emptiness returning. Her body slowly waking up, Ralts attempted to get away, only for the Archen to pounce in front of her, with the Munchlax blocking her other exit. Fearful, Ralts looked up towards the collector, a yellow and black ball in his hand. “Finally.”

‘ _Someone, please! Help!’_ Ralts screamed in her head, sending out pulses of telepathy to anyone that would listen, the Ultra coming its way towards her. Just before it made contact, Louise began to stir, panicked images racing in her mind. Groggily, she awoke from her song-induced slumber, only to see the collector about to place Ralts inside of an Ultra. Immediately she kicked the collector away and with an audible ‘oof’, he fell to the ground and lost his grip on the Ultra Ball. As the collector’s Pokémon all raced to check on their trainer, Louise shakily got to her feet and pulled out the one Full Restore she had brought with them. With her primary concern being Ralts, she used it on her.

“You need to get out of here! Go!” Louise ordered Ralts, who got up to her feet. With the collector getting to his feet, Louise placed herself between him and his target. Ralts, meanwhile, stared up at Louise with stars in her eyes.

“Why won’t you just let me catch it! Why do you keep getting involved!?” the collector raged. “This doesn’t even concern you!”

“Well I say it does!” Louise shouted back in defiance, standing her ground. Upon noticing that Ralts was still there, she turned her head. “Ralts, I told you to run!” After a moment, Ralts shook her head and walked up to her, stunning both Louise and the collector. Her eyes glowed purple, and its horns began to shine.

_‘No.’_ Ralts telepathically thought, Louise’s eyes widening a purple sheen began to cover the Clefairy.

“Did you just…?” Louise couldn’t finish her sentence as a the Clefairy began to be psychically lifted into the air. Flailing around in a panic, the Clefairy was suddenly launched towards a nearby tree, striking it with an audible crack. Another glow and other Pokémon, along with the collector, were sent flying back as well, although with far less strength. As the glow subsided, Ralts turned her head to look at Louise expectantly.

“…Why didn’t you do that before?” Louise raised her eyebrow towards the Ralts, who bashfully kicked the ground. A barrage of images told her that she didn’t like violence that much. Before Louise could dig deeper, the collector got to his feet in a huff.

“Why you little-!” he growled out as he checked on the status of his Clefairy. Upon noticing it was knocked cold, he angrily returned it to its Pokéball. Feeling a slight tug on her mind, Louise looked down to see Ralts looking up at her expectantly. No words were spoken, but the meaning was clear.

“Okay, Ralts. What moves do you know?” Images flashed in Louise’s mind, revealing the moves that she knew. A flash of images soon erupted in her mind, telling Louise that Ralts only knew four moves. What their proper names were, she did not know, but she would have to make do. As the collector angrily turned towards them, Louise sprang into action.

“Ralts, use Cute Cry!” Louise ordered, the command drawing confusion from the collector, not knowing what move she was referring to. Ralts, however, did, and opened her mouth and released a cute cry. Pink waves of energy flew out from her mouth towards the Munchlax and Archen, and while Louise thought it was adorable, the others did not, the sound causing them to clutch their ears in pain. The Munchlax, recovering first, rolled up into a ball and zoomed towards Ralts.

“Split Apart!” Louise commanded, with Ralts splitting herself into multiple different forms that surrounded the Munchlax. As the Munchlax rolled into one, it fell apart, revealing it to be a fake. Before it could attack another one, a psychic force began to rattle its mind, causing it to rattle its head in pain. The Archen, narrowing its eyes, leapt up into the air and, in an action meant more for clearing out dense fog, blew away the copies, revealing the actual Ralts. As her false copies dissipated, Ralts ceased her psychic assault of the Munchlax, who remained dazed. As it tried to walk over to the Ralts, it began to sway and wobble. After a few more wobbly steps, Munchlax faceplanted with an audible plop. It attempted to push itself off the ground, only to slip and faceplant once more. The third time, it managed to get to its feet, only to fall onto its back.

“Munchlax, snap out of it!” the collector shouted, beginning to panic. Shaking its head, Munchlax narrowed its eyes and curled up into a ball. It began to spin, building up more and more velocity before shooting forward at the Ralts. Like a Deerling in headlights, Ralts stood still in panic before Munchlax suddenly veered off course and slammed into a tree, hard enough to create a noticeable dented crack. Soon enough, the tree itself fell over, and the Munchlax uncurled but remained unmoving.

“Dammit!” the collector shouted as he returned Munchlax to his Pokéball. He attempted to give an order to his Archen, only to see it already on the move. Enraged at seeing its comrades fallen to the Ralts, Archen leaped towards the her, who suddenly created more copies to avoid the damage. With another quick flap of its wings, Archen again dissipated the false Ralts copies, revealing Ralts to be standing behind it. Before it could fully turn around it was suddenly pushed back by a psychic force. As it began to push itself off the ground, Louise shouted out another order.

“Fairy Mist!” At Louise’s command, pink energy began to coalesce above Ralts before exploding, covering the area with a light, tranquil, pink mist, the grass itself turning pink as it absorbed the ambient Fairy energy. Archen lifted another set of submerged rocks, attempting to get off an attack.

“Cute Cry!” Louise shouted once again, which Ralts quickly unleashed. The excess Fairy energy emitted from the mist amplified the cry’s power as it struck Archen. Clutching it head in pain, it glared at Ralts in anger and launched itself towards the recoiling Pokémon, only to be blindsided by a fireball. Looking to the side, the participants saw an enraged Brennaraki glaring at the Archen, Aile struggling to lift herself off the ground. Archen began to lift some small stones out of the ground, only for Brennaraki to charge him. As she did so, she became engulfed in flames which increased her velocity. Eyes widening, Archen attempted to get out of the way, but it was too late, its body too weak. The flaming fox slammed into the prehistoric bird, sending it tumbling with a few scorched feathers. It skidded across the ground before coming to a halt, its body unmoving. Silence descended over the air as everyone realized what had happened. Louise had won.

_‘Huh, Brennaraki finally got Flame Charge working. Been trying to get that all day,’_ Louise thought as she stared at the smug Fennekin. A sense of relief fell upon the group, but before Louise could revel in her victory, the collector dropped to his knees.

“No!” the collector screeched. Returning Archen to his ball, he clutched them tightly to his chest and began to rock back in forth. “No, no no…” Louise stood back, watching him in pity, something she did not expect to feel towards him. With a sigh, she returned Aile and Brennaraki to their balls and turned towards Ralts.

“Let’s get out of here…” she slowly began to walk away, with Ralts quickly following her, leaving the wailing collector behind.

* * *

 

As the two walked quietly back to camp, both Louise and Ralts contemplated the events that transpired. They were happy to get her away from the collector, but his broken state afterwards was very uncomfortable to watch.

_‘Is that what happens if you focus too much on one thing?_ ’ Louise asked herself as she pondered the collector. Those thoughts went away as she found herself back at the campsite.

“Well, Ralts, it’s been…eventful, to say the least. I’m pretty sure your safe now, at least from him. I doubt he’ll try anything for a while, anyway…” Louise knelt down to the Ralts. “Goodbye,” Louise smiled and turned to walk to her tent, only to feel a tug on her pajama pants. Looking down, she saw Ralts look up at her expectantly, shaking her head.

“What? What is it?” Ralts responded by hugging Louise’s leg tightly, as if she didn’t want to be separated. With a gasp, Louise realized what Ralts was wanting. “You mean… But I… I don’t…” Louise began to stammer, confused as towards Ralts’ reasoning. With a smile, Ralts climbed up Louise’s body before coming eyes level and resting her forehead on Louise’s, sending a clear message: Ralts trusted her.

Happy tears welling up in her eyes, Louise rushed back to her tent and pulled an empty Luxury Ball from her backpack. Running back to Ralts, she offered the ball to the small Pokémon, who immediately touched the front button and was absorbed into it. Lighting up red, it mildly shook before finally clicking, confirming a capture. Louise, beaming, held the ball up to her face.

“Welcome to the team…Espirit.”

* * *

 

As the sun shone into the tent, Saito groggily woke up and stretched out his arms. Smacking his lips, he got the distinct feeling that he missed something earlier, but the smell of cooking food banished those thoughts from his mind.

“Morning, Louise,” Saito greeted as he exited his tent. “What’s for… Why is there a Ralts here?” Saito stared at Louise, currently attempting to grill some sausage patties and hash browns in a skillet, with a Ralts kneeling at her side, along with Aile and Brennaraki. Judging by the smell, it was likely to end up as charcoal, but that was the least of Saito’s questions. Tanuki and Ronin soon erupted out of their Pokéballs and joined in looking at the Ralts, although Tanuki’s look was less confusion and more excitement. Seeing the attention on her, the Ralts shyly waved towards the three boys, who, except for the animated Tanuki, slowly waved back.

“Morning, Saito. This is Espirit. I caught her last night,” Louise nonchalantly revealed as she continued to burn their breakfast. If she knew, she wasn’t showing it.

“…I’m sure that there is a story behind that,” Saito sighed as he started fishing a couple packages of jerky out of his backpack, “But I’m willing to wait until we eat.”

[~][~]


	17. Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise bonds with Espirit, her newest Pokemon, while the two make their way to Lumoise to both meet with Professor Sycamore and challenge the local Gym Leader.

**Outsiders (Pokemon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 2**

* * *

 

“So, let me get this straight,” Saito spoke as he and Louise continued their trek north, their Pokémon following close behind. “Last night, Espirit over there,” at the sound of her name, Espirit looked up and waved, to which Saito waved back, “wandered into your tent and woke you up.”

“Yes,” Louise nodded, munching on some leftover jerky that Saito had given her when it turned out her attempt at breakfast was fit only for a Torkoal.

“Rather than freak out, the two of you ‘communicated’, and when you found out the collector was hunting her down, you tried to help her.”

“That is correct.”

“However, the collector caught up to you guys, forcing a battle that ended with him putting your Pokémon to sleep and you commanding Espirit. When you guys returned to camp, Espirit didn’t want to leave and so you got a Ralts.”

“Exactly,” Louise smiled. “Why do you act so surprised?”

“It’s not that I’m surprised, it’s just…,” Saito sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Never mind.” Sensing his stress, Espirit psychically sent soothing images to him, smiling when he turned to look at her.

“I swear, she is the most polite Pokémon I’ve ever met,” Saito smiled back at Espirit, who bashfully looked away at the praise.

“I know! It’s adorable!” Louise cooed, causing Brennaraki to grumble.

“ _Jealous, much?”_ Tanuki smirked at Brennaraki, who began to sputter.

_“No! Why would I be jealous of her!”_ Brennaraki angrily denied, causing Tanuki to laugh.

_“There is nothing wrong with the attention she is receiving,”_ Ronin replied, a sea of calm to Brennaraki’s storm. _“It is only natural. She is not abandoning you.”_

_“Who says I’m being abandoned and replaced!”_ Brennaraki growled. _“I’m not!”_

_“Drama queen…”_ Aile scoffed at her teammate’s antics. She didn’t act like this last time, so why now?

_“Why you little-!”_

_‘Ms. Brennaraki’_ Espirit’s telepathic voice rang out though the Pokémon’s minds. _‘I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any distress. I don’t mean to.’_ Brennaraki went silent at Espirit’s sincere tone.

_“…I just can’t stay mad at you,”_ Brennaraki sighed, causing Espirit to smile.

_“See, that’s the spirit! Give her a chance!”_ Tanuki patted Brennaraki on the back. Looking back at Espirit, the blue canine smiled and flashed her a smile, which Espirit returned.

_“Tanuki, my friend, you seem to be giving Espirit a lot of attention,”_ Ronin smirked towards a confused looking Tanuki. _“Should I be aware of something?”_

_“I don’t…Oh, you think…Nah, it’s not that at all,”_ Tanuki waved him off. _“I just remembered how you acted when I joined the team, and trying to help her out.”_ Ronin began to sputter at Tanuki’s declaration.

_“I… I did no such thing!”_

_“Yeah, you kinda did, man. Cold shoulder and everything. It hurt.”_

_“I…I apologize for my-“_

_“Nah, just messing with ya. About the hurt part. Everything else was true.”_ As Ronin continued to sputter, attempting to apologize, Tanuki patted his shoulder and walked out front to Saito. Shaking his head, Ronin ran back up to him, leaving Brennaraki and Aile.

_“…he is so lying,”_ Aile declared, to which Brennaraki nodded.

_‘Lying about what? It didn’t feel like he was lying about anything…’_ Espirit asked, confused. When she only received strange looks from her teammates, she shrugged and turned forwards, continuing to walk with Louise and Saito. As they passed by a small field, Louise stopped, causing the party to stop in turn.

“Louise, what’s wrong?” Saito asked, concerned.

“Nothing, just…” Louise breathed in and smiled. “Just remembering. This is where I caught Aile.” At the mention of her name, Aile looked around before her eyes widened in recognition. “I wonder if those Combee are still here?”

“Why? Thinking about catching one?”

“No, just curious. It would be nice to meet them again, though.”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” Saito nodded in agreement. “Want to wait a bit and see if they show up? We aren’t that far.”

“No,” Louise shook her head. “It would love to, but I honestly doubt that they’d come back here for quite some time. Speaking of which,” Louise looked at a sheepish Aile, “something tells me that they would not appreciate Aile showing up.” All eyes turned to Aile, waiting for her answer.

“ _…yeah, she’s probably right._ ” Aile shrugged, causing the others to lightly chuckle. Except for Espirit, who crossed her arms and pouted.

_‘Aile, what did you do?’_ Espirit scolded, causing Aile’s to slightly widen.

“ _I, uh…tried to get some honey from them…”_ Aile looked around in confusion when Espirit frowned.

_‘Did you_ ask _for some?’_

“ _…no?”_ At Aile’s answer, Espirit’s frown deepened.

_‘That wasn’t very nice, Aile. You should apologize.’_

“Uh, Louise? What are your Pokémon doing?” Saito asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion as everyone looked upon Espirit scolding a confused Aile.

“I…I think Espirit is trying to get Aile to do something…” Louise guessed. If that was the case, it obviously wasn’t going over very well.

_‘You know what, you should go apologize. We’ll stay here and you-’_

_“How about_ no _?”_ Aile flatly refused, causing Espirit to sputter.

_‘Wha… Why not?’_ Espirit exclaimed, not comprehending.

_“Let me get this straight. You want_ me _to fly into the hive itself, whose members I helped attack in case you forgot, just to say sorry. That would be a very stupid idea even_ with _an entire flock to back me up, and you want me to go in_ alone _? Are you out of your mind!?”_

_‘I mean… I just thought…it would mean more if…’_

_“Thought what? That I should be sorry for trying to get something to eat. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Not all of us can just bat our eyes and ask nicely to get what we want. Speaking of food…,”_ at this remark, Aile fluttered towards a nearby tree that looked like it had a few Aspears on it, ending the conversation and causing Espirit to stare dejectedly at the ground on her feet. Seeing this, Louise smiled and walked over.

“Let me guess, Aile wouldn’t go along with what you wanted her to do?” Louise asked, with Espirit sending a series of images into her mind. “Ah, you wanted her to apologize? I can see why she wouldn’t want to do that.” Espirit nodded once again, clearly disappointed.

“Can I tell you something?” Louise quietly asked. After a moment, Espirit nodded. “You can’t make someone apologize, not really. Take it from me…” Louise grew quiet. “If a person doesn’t want to say sorry, even if they do say it when someone makes them, they don’t actually mean it. Right now, Aile isn’t sorry about what she did to the Combees. Making her apologize for it wouldn’t mean anything,” Louise stood up and smiled.

“Besides, I honestly doubt that the Combees would be happy to see her,” Louise chuckled at Espirit’s knowing look. Something told her that Aile expressed similar sentiments. After a few more moments of light laughter, Louise turned around and walked over to Saito.

“Ready to go?” Saito asked, the Pokémon all going to their respective trainers.

“Yes,” Louise began to walk, Saito alongside her. “How long do you think it will take?”

“Hmm, probably another hour or two, if I had to guess.”

“That’s good. Much better than… Hold on.” Louise stopped before a flowerbed, seeing something make the flowers move. The others saw it as well and tensed, the Pokémon putting themselves in front, until a small head poked itself out. It was a small, white fairy with a yellow, flowery crown on its head, and red dots on its cheek.

“Huh, what is that?” Saito leaned in, apprehension leaving his body. He began to reach for his Pokédex, but Louise was faster. As she pulled it open, the tiny creature had risen further out of the flower bed, revealing it to be resting on a flower.

_“Flabébé, the Single Bloom Pokémon. When a Flabébé is born, they grab the closest flower to them. This flower then stays with the Flabébé for the rest of its life,”_ the Pokédex’s voice rang out, causing Saito’s and Louise’s eyebrows to raise.

_‘Huh, the Flabébé in the picture has a red flower, but this one has a white flower,’_ Louise thought to herself as she eyed the creature, thumbing a Luxury Ball on her belt. She contemplated trying to catch it, it seemed friendly enough as it chirped out a curious greeting, but as she read the typing, she put the device away.

_‘Nah, I don’t need another Fairy-type.’_ Louise stood up, the head of the white flowered Flabébé to rise up with her. She could see it fully now, and to be honest it was adorable, but she already had an adorable Fairy-type. Standing, Louise began to walk away, Leaving Saito behind.

“You don’t want to try and catch it?” Saito called out as he stood up.

“Don’t need two Fairy-types. Feel free if you’re interested,” Saito heard Louise shout back. For a moment he turned to the Flabébé, his hand hovering near his Pokéball before stopping himself.

_‘Nah, I’m good. Not even sure how I would even train a Pokémon that small,_ ’ Saito shrugged and walked away to Louise. As the two trainers continued to walk away, the Flabébé continued to watch them for a moment before she got pulled away by the wind.

* * *

 

“Ah, it’s so good to be back in Lumiose,” Louise exclaimed, basking in the sight of the city. After another hour of uneventful travel, the two trainers finally found themselves in Lumiose City. The familiar Prism Tower was a welcome sight to see, and after spending three weeks in the city, its lights and sounds were just as relieving.

“I must say, it is definitely a relief from nothing but trees for the past few weeks,” Saito nodded. “So, straight to the Gym, or do you want to see the professor first?”

“I already talked to the professor, actually. He said that he was busy finalizing the research into why the Beedrill Mega-Evolved, and as such would not be available for a few hours,” Louise adopted a serious look on face, one Saito soon developed as well.

“That is definitely weird. Mind if I stick around for that explanation?” Louise nodded at this. If she had to be honest, Sycamore had already assumed he’d be there. “Well, moving on, I guess we could go to the Gym, but it’s not open for a few hours. Want to do anything, or meet up later?”

“I don’t—” Louise was interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling, causing her to blush. Given how, in Saito’s words, Louise’s breakfast was so burnt a Torkoal would have second thoughts, the two didn’t eat breakfast that morning. Saito smirked and began to chuckle before his stomach growled as well.

“…Well, looks like we’re both hungry,” Saito stated, averting his eyes from Louise’s glare. “…You’ve been here longer than I have. Any suggestions?”

Louise cupped her chin in thought before nodding. “There’s a bakery not far from here. Professor Sycamore took me there once, and they make a nice breakfast,” Louise waved her hand and began to walk away. After a moment, she stopped and beckoned him to follow. Nodding, Saito followed Louise, neither of them noticing a pair of eyes following them.

* * *

 

“You were right,” Saito mumbled through a full mouth, much to Louise’s open disgust, “these omelets are great.”

“Please don’t talk with your mouth full,” Louise ordered. With an embarrassed blush, Saito swallowed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Louise politely took a bite out of her omelet, chewed, and swallowed. “And yes, these omelets are delicious.” Wiping her mouth, Louise put her utensils on her plate, signaling that she was finished. Seeing this, Saito quickly finished his breakfast as well. Signaling their waitress, the two paid and left the building.

“So, where to now?” Saito asked, his hands in his pockets.

“I guess we can—” a ringing noise erupted from Louise’s pocket, interrupting her. Pulling out her Pokédex, she opened it up to see a new message notification from the Professor, which she quickly opened and began to read.

“What’s it say?” Saito asked, leaning in to try and get a better look. Before he could, Louise collapsed her Pokédex and pocketed it.

“He has his preliminary findings ready, and he wants us to come down to the lab,” Louise smiled. With a nod, the began to head towards the lab. The two made idle conversation along the way, mostly about their strategies for beating Clemont and what they expected to face off against. As they passed by a Pokémon Center, however, the two stopped and looked at its doors.

“You know, I just realized that we should probably take our Pokemon in to get checked before we do any fighting,” Saito stated.

“You’re probably right,” Louise agreed. With that, the two walked in and were immediately greeted by a nurse at the counter.

“Welcome to the Pokemon Center,” the pink clad nurse smiled at them. Saito smiled back and continued forward, while Louise stopped in her tracks and simply looked confused.

“…Nurse Joy?” Louise scrunched her face in confusion. “How did you get here so fast from Santalune?”

“Santalune?” the Nurse Joy lookalike squinted her eyes before snapping her fingers. “Oh, I understand. That wasn’t me. My cousin runs the Pokémon Center in Santalune.”

“Your…cousin? But you look exactly alike.” Louise just looked even more confused, while Saito looked on with sympathy.

“All of us do, across all the regions. See,” Nurse Joy pulled out a photograph from below the desk. It appeared to be a family photo, with hundreds of filling up the frame. The fact that every single one of them looked exactly the same only served to unnerve Louise greatly.

“I don’t… _What?_ ” Louise’s mind blanked as she stared at the picture, trying and failing to grasp any sort of understanding as to how every single female in an extended family could look practically the same. If she focused, she could see a few minute differences here and there, but for the most part they looked identical.

“Yeah, we get that a lot,” the Nurse nodded. “Doesn’t help that most of us run Pokémon Centers. Family tradition at this point, really.” Joy’s answer only served to further confuse Louise. Before she could question further, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Saito look at her with sympathy. She could tell by his eyes that he once did the exact same thing.

“Louise, let it go,” Saito advised, an unspoken conversation going on.

_‘How!?’_ Louise silently asked the boy.

_‘I stopped asking myself that years ago.’_ Saito silently replied. With a reluctant sigh, Louise dropped it and

“Well, now that we got that out of the way, how can we serve you two today?”

* * *

 

“I have seen many things since I got here, each more fantastical than the last, and _that_ ,” Louise pointed to the Pokémon Center, more specifically the person inside of it, “is the most confusing thing I have seen yet.”

“I know, Louise. I know,” Saito nodded.

“Seriously, is there like a farm or something? There is no natural way that they all look like that.”

“People have been trying to answer that question for years, Louise. The Joy, Jenny, George, and Porter families are very tight lipped about that. Personally, my theory is that they have a cloning lab somewhere, but frankly there are more important things to worry about.” Louise moved to retort but stopped and sighed, figuring he was right. Soon enough, the two walked up to the lab, and with a nod to each other, they knocked on the door. From the other side, they heard movement, the ruffling of papers and moving of chairs until the door opened, revealing a slightly unkempt Sycamore with bags under his Louise.

“Louise!” he yawned as he opened the door wider. “Come in, come in.”

“Thank you, Professor…,” Louise thanked the tired man as she and Saito entered the building. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, this?” Sycamore pointed to his eyes. “Just lack of sleep. Ever since your encounter with that Mega Beedrill, I’ve been focusing so much on that I haven’t been much of it. Trying to find out why and how it happened.”

“That…makes sense,” Saito nodded. “You are the expert on Mega Evolution.”

“Ah, you must be Saito,” Sycamore offered out his hand in greeting, which Saito quickly took hold of. “Louise told me a lot about you. And how the two of you met. She can be quite a handful, can’t she?”

“Hey!”

“Hah!” Saito laughed. “Yeah, she kinda is.”

“ _HEY!”_

“She grows on you though,” Sycamore chuckled, which Saito nodded to as well while Louise continued to grumble about the indignation of it all. When Sycamore stopped chuckling, his face adopted a more serious expression.

“But, you two aren’t here for that. Come with me, we’re going to the lab.” Sycamore turned and walked away, Saito and Louise quickly following. As they entered the research area, they saw a large, complicated looking machine at the far end, a familiar gem lying inside.

“That’s the Beedrillite!” Louise exclaimed as she recognized the sphere. Sycamore nodded.

“It is. Viola sent it up that night for me to look at. I’ve been analyzing it ever since, trying to find out _exactly_ what happened.”

“Have you?” Saito questioned.

“Nothing conclusive, but I have a pretty solid theory. To fully confirm it, I needed Louise to be here, actually.”

“Me?” Louise pointed to herself.

“You think her magic as something to do with it?” Sycamore looked at Saito as he asked his question.

“Hmm, so you know?”

“About the magic thing? Pretty hard to deny that after she said a word and caused an explosion. The whole other world thing I’m still on the fence about.” Saito nodded in confirmation.

“Well, allow me to confirm the other world,” Sycamore pressed a button, causing a screen to light up and display a image of energy readings. “I wouldn’t expect either of you to understand what this is, so I’m not going to ask. These are the energy reading of a normal human being. Myself, specifically, taken from about a year ago, well before I met Louise. This was necessary to serve as a control.

This,” Sycamore pressed another button, causing another image to appear alongside the old. Saito and Louise gasped as they noticed it was much more chaotic. Alarmingly so. “This, is a reading of Louise, taken the day after we met.”

“What… What is it saying?” Louise leaned forward, while Saito remained motionless.

“It’s as I said. It’s a confirmation of your being from another world,” Sycamore stared forward at the images. “Saito, are you familiar with the concept of a multiverse?”

“I…yes?” Saito quickly glanced at Louise, who continued to stare at Sycamore, rapt in attention.

“Good, then I can get straight to the point. Between each universe, there is a boundary between them. We call this boundary ‘Ultra Space’, which was recently discovered by researchers in the Alola Region. I’ve been in contact with Professor Burnet, an expert in the area, and she explained to me that there is evidence that people and Pokémon have traveled through Ultra Space before. People who did so emitted similar energy signatures as Ultra Wormholes, gateways between Ultra Space and our world. Louise, the fact that you emit the exact same is proof that you travelled through Ultra Space.”

“Okay, she fell through an Ultra Wormhole. How does that prove she’s from another world? I’ve heard of other people who have ended up going through them and coming back out, but I haven’t heard anything about people from other worlds coming through,” Saito mumbled to himself, with Sycamore patting his shoulder.

“Wait, so your saying that me going through Ultra Space caused it to Mega Evolve?” Louise raised her eyebrow, to which Sycamore shook his head.

“Not exactly. This is actually where I needed you to help. If you can cast an explosion over there,” he pointed to a contained area with thick glass. It almost looked like a firing range. Louise nodded and entered the range, closing the door behind her. Putting on some safety goggles and ear protectors, she pulled out her wand and shouted a word, aiming at the far end. Her voice was blocked by the thick walls of the range, but they could hear the muffled explosion even from here. At Sycamore’s urging, currently focused on a monitor, Louise casted a few more muffled explosions until the professor beckoned her to stop.

“Well?” she asked as she exited the sealed room.

“These are only preliminary, and I will need more time to fully analyze it,” Sycamore continued to read the data, “but from I can see, it looks like my theory is right.” Turning in his chair, Sycamore rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

“It wasn’t just the Ultra Energy your body was emitting. It was your Void Magic as well.”

“My magic did this?” Louise flinched back.

“Partially,” Sycamore clarified. “Whatever Void Magic is, it disrupts normal energy signatures and bonds. Thermodynamics, electromagnetism, whatever it is, Void Magic modifies or, pardon the pun, voids it,” Sycamore’s voice began to rise in excitement, along with his body.

“Every time you make an explosion, Louise, you aren’t simply creating an explosion out of nothing. Your _splitting an atom_ , disrupting the electromagnetic forces that bind the particles together. If I’m correct, and based off of what you told me, your world’s magic operates by manipulating the atoms themselves. I think your magic can _stop_ that manipulation by disrupting the fundamental forces that bind them together!”

“Okay…” Louise’s eyes widened. _‘Going to look into that later…’_ , she thought, but she recognized the beginning of a ramble. “How does that explain why the Beedrill Mega-Evolved?”

“Oh, right. Simply put, Louise, the combination of your body emitting Ultra Energy, the disruptive effects of Void Magic, and spending a week in close proximity with you caused the Mega Stone to mistake you for a Key Stone, and then it activated!”

“And once she left, it stopped,” Saito concluded.

“Precisely!” Sycamore threw his arms into the air in excitement while Louise slumped down into a chair. Rubbing her forehead, Louise sighed.

“Okay, so me and my magic caused it to happen. How do we make sure that it doesn’t happen in the future?”

“Still working on that, but I believe that so long as there is another Key Stone in the area, and the Mega Stone hasn’t been in prolonged direct contact with you, you should be fine.”

“What if _I_ want to use Mega Evolution, though? I have a Ralts now, and both of their fully evolved forms can Mega Evolve?” Sycamore cupped his chin at Louise’s question, deep in thought.

“I don’t have an answer for that yet, unfortunately. For now, if you find any Mega Stones, I want you to send them to me. Do not keep them on you until I can find a better solution. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Louise stood up and smiled. “Thank you, Professor.”

“No problem, Louise. I take it you two are heading to the Gym now?”

“Correct, sir,” Saito responded.

“Well, I wish the both of you the best of luck. I know Clemont, and he will prove to be quite a challenge.”

“Not going to make that mistake again,” Louise mumbled under her breath before beginning to leave, “I’ll see you after the battle, Professor. With any luck, I’ll win and head on to the next Gym tomorrow.”

“Well, you two are welcome to stay with me over the night,” Sycamore offered, to which Saito politely shook his head.

“I… Thank you, sir. I’d be honored,” Saito quickly accepted. He’d been planning on staying in a hotel or the Pokémon Center, but there was no way he’d pass up on a chance to stay with the Regional Professor.

“Understandable,” Sycamore nodded. At that, the two trainers nodded their heads respectfully and made their way out of the lab, Sycamore’s Garchomp providing a welcome escort.

“So,” Saito began as they left Sycamore’s lab, “do we head to the Gym together, or go our separate ways?”

“Well, what’s your plan?”

“I was just going to take a cab. I’ve never been in this city before, so I’m not even going to _attempt_ trying to walk there,” at Saito’s admission, Louise developed a sly grin.

“Well, I _do_ have experience in walking around in Lumiose. I bet I can get us there.”

“Uh-huh. Right… If it’s all the same to you, I’m just going to take a cab. You can walk there if you want.” Louise pouted at Saito’s refusal before standing upright.

“You know what, I will. I will prove to you that I can get there on my own,” Louise haughtily raised her head. “In fact, I bet I’ll get there first.” Saito let out an amused chuckle.

“Sure, I’ll let you do that. First one to the gym wins, deal?” Saito stretched out his hand, which Louise grasped and shook. With a nod, she turned and walked away, leaving Saito behind.

[~][~]


	18. Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito race towards Prism Tower, wanting to obtain their next badge. But while Louise gets lost in the city and runs into a pair of old contenders, Saito deals with an unruly Pokemon in a dark alley.

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 3**

* * *

 

As soon as Louise released Saito’s hand, she took off in a sprint, leaving the boy behind. Saito could only chuckle to himself, placing his hand in his pocket and keeping an eye out for a taxi. Soon enough, one entered his view, and he raised his hand to signal the driver. As he did, a sharp bang from a nearby alley caught his attention. With a noticeable jump, Saito turned and faced towards the dark alley.

“…Uh, hello?” he called out, his hand slowly reaching for his Pokéball. A dark shape soon revealed itself, causing him to hastily pull out a Pokéball in warning. As the figure stepped into the light, he lowered his hand it revealed itself to be a dirty young boy, staring at him with wide, pleading eyes.

“Hey there,” Saito greeted the boy. Looking around in an attempt to find his parents and finding no trace, Saito knelt down to look at the boy eye level. “You lost? Where’s your parents?” The boy said nothing, unnerving Saito even more, before suddenly turning around and running back into the alley.

“Hey, wait!” Saito shouted as the boy ran off. Seeing how no one else was around, and unwilling to let a child, Saito quickly took off in the sprint, hoping to find and help the lost child. The boy turned out to be quite fast, with Saito only catching glimpses of him as he traversed the long winding alley until eventually he found himself at a chain link fence, with the boy nowhere in sight. Cursing silently to himself, Saito looked around the alley, only to find nothing but a few trashcans and lose bricks, neither a child nor a hiding place in sight.

As he was silently stewed on where they could have gone, a cold laugh echoed just behind him. Spinning around in a fright, he was greeted by a dark, human-shaped shadow about half of his height that was just standing against the wall of the alley, casually throwing a brick up and down in its hand.

"Uh, hello… I guess you haven't seen a kid here, have you?" Saito cautiously stated. The ghost cocked it's head to one side before violently throwing the brick right by his face and into the fence behind him. Saito quickly expanded a Pokéball as the ghost unleashed another spine-chilling laugh.

"Well if it's a fight you want… Water Gun, Ronin!" Saito yelled out as he threw the Pokéball. In a flash, Ronin landed and quickly fired off a stream of water, however the ghost merely cackled as the water passed through harmlessly. Before Ronin had a chance to attack again, the ghost quickly launched another brick, forcing Ronin to roll out of its way and Saito to duck.

"Ok, water won't work. Try Air Slash!" With a frustrated shake of his head, Ronin grabbed the scalchop from his chest and slashed toward its midsection, but again the ghost allowed the strike to skid across its midsection, apparently only scrapping the bricks it was leaning against, and quickly darted forward with a clawed hand that narrowly missed the otter. Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Saito attempted to scan the ghost in front of him with his Pokédex to figure out just what it was but it returned with an error. 

“What the hell is this thing?" he muttered as Ronin fired off another Water Gun that passed harmlessly over it as it melted back into the ground. Another laugh echoed in the alley before another brick was thrown from somewhere, this time slamming into Ronin’s head. Seeing how this was going nowhere fast, Saito pulled out Tanuki’s Pokéball.  
  
"Ok Tanuki, let's see what you can come up with!" With a cry, Tanuki bounded forward from his ball, but upon seeing the shadow disappear, he scrunched his face up in confusion. The Ghost quickly reappeared again along the wall, leering at the hound. "Meteor Mash!" Saito commanded, but Tanuki remained still as he closed his eyes, "Uh, Tanuki?" Saito asked in confusion before Tanuki suddenly opened his eyes and dashed to a nearby trashcan. Grabbing a lid, he twisted his body around and threw it towards a higher up windowsill.

"Tanuki, what are you do-!" Saito questioned but stopped himself as the lid bounced off something that moaned in pain and then surprise as it fell from its perch and into some garbage cans, the ghost suddenly dissipating into nothingness. The small figure noisily untangled it's self from its undignified landing and stumbled out from behind a bunch of garbage cans clutching its head.

All those present stared incuriously at the figure before them "Tanuki? Are you sur-" Saito started but quickly cut himself off as the Pokémon snapped his head up towards them and growled in annoyance. As it did, two sickly, blue-white flames snapped into life above its head and a garbage can lid was wrenched in front of it like a shield. Tanuki quickly dashed forward but a familiar shadow suddenly darted up from the ground and grabbed his leg, swinging him into a nearby wall. As Tanuki fell to the ground, the figure threw a pair of flames at the downed hound.

"Apparently so...Water Gun Ronin!" Ronin, still unsure of how the battle had suddenly turned out, shot a stream of water at the Pokémon before them. The figure simply waves it's hand, angling the lid to deflect the weak stream and casually threw a black ball that slammed into the surprised otter, throwing him back nosily into the fence. Quickly the figure swiped it's hand back and brought the lid around in time for a fist to embed its self into the middle of it. Tanuki narrowed his eyes, ripped his fist back and kicked the lid up, exposing the distorted figure that quickly disappeared in a haze.

"Ronin, you ok?" The otter responded by flipping himself back to his feet and muttered angerly at himself, apparently pissed off that he got suckered like that. "How about you, Tanuki?” the hound grunted in confirmation as he patted out a few strands of fur that were still on fire.

“Ok, Tanuki, you know where he went?" Tanuki closed his eyes again, only to get beaned by a brick, driving him to the ground, with more laughter echoing around the alley as the figure appeared on a fire escape. Saito was able to get a slightly better look at it, although it was still obscured by shadow. It was small, probably at most two feet in height. Whatever it was, though, it was strong.

"Razor shell, Ronin!" Saito yelled as Ronin dashed up with a war cry, only for it to turn to surprise as his shell passed straight through the figure. The shadow dissipated, only for another to form and grasp the outstretched arm, quickly spinning Ronin around and before throwing him high into the air amid another round of cackling. At this point, Tanuki stood back up, rubbing the back of his head as a deep growl escaped his muzzle. Amused, the Pokémon walked out from behind some garbage bags with a visible smirk on his face while he held his arm above his head.

"Tanuki don't attack just yet!" Saito called out but in warning, he was already in motion, his fist glowing as he ran forward. The figure simply waited until Tanuki was a few feet from him and dropped his arm, causing a flailing Ronin to slam into him from above, driving both of them into the ground, causing the Pokémon to almost double over laughing. Before they could recover, it disappeared into another distorted flash.

"You two ok?" Saito quickly moved up next to the downed pair, "Don't suppose he decided to run away, do you?" An almost musical chirp quickly answered him from behind. Slowly turning around with a grimace, he spotted the little demon casually kicking his feet as he sat on the chain linked fence with a smile grinning down at them. He would have looked innocent if it wasn't for the four flames that hovered around his head and a pair of bricks on either side of him. Tanuki almost charged him but an outstretched arm stopped him.

"Just charging him isn't getting us anywhere, Ronin you distract him and get him to expose himself, Tanuki hang back and wait for an opportunity and surprise him when it happens." The pair nodded in confirmation Tanuki jumped back up to the fire escape and Ronin stepped forward.

“Now, I don’t know what it is that we did, but I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. Just let us go, and we’ll never bother you again.”

“ _He tells the truth, foul oni_ ,” Ronin glared at the creature. “ _Let us pass._ ”

“ _Ooh, I’m shaking!_ ” the Pokémon mocked. “ _How can I possibly defeat a half-assed weaboo playing a samurai and his pet dog. Oh, I suppose the Riolu’s around here somewhere, maybe he can take the dog to the vet!_ ”

 _“… I take it back,_ ” Ronin scowled as he pulled out his scalchop, incredibly insulted. “ _I will enjoy this._ ”

"Alright then. Ronin, spray down those fireballs!" Ronin immediately sprayed out a wide stream of water that snuffed out the balls and swiftly dodged the bricks that were thrown in retaliation. Despite the loss of his fire, however, the demon simply continued sitting on the fence with that exact same smirk still plastered on his face.

"That's a fake, MOVE!" Saito shouted, just in time as a pitch black orb shot out from somewhere and slammed into the ground. As the blue otter dodged, a growl echoed through the alley as two more fireballs hissed into life in the air over him. Ronin prepared another wide stream when Saito noticed a shadow rearing up behind him.

"Duck and use Razor Shell behind you!" With the shadow looming over him, he quickly twisted on the balls of his flippers and delivered an uppercut on the shadow, splitting it in half and immediately dissipating in the air. The action, however, left him open to the encroaching fireballs. Spinning around, he quickly slashed though one that caused it sputter out but the last one hissed into his right arm, sparking another disembodied chuckle that was cut to a panicked wheeze that sounded vaguely above to his right.

Glancing over, he saw Tanuki apparently managed to track him down and was currently gripping him by his throat. He apparently attempted to stammer something out before which only served to infuriate Tanuki even more. Insulted, Tanuki spun the demon around and threw him to the ground hard. To his credit, he only bounced once before getting his bearings and summoning another black orb to his hands. He glared at the hound as he jumped down from his former hiding spot only, to get slammed into a wall by a solid stream of water. When the stream ended he shakenly got back to his feet only for Tanuki to grab his leg, throw him into the air, and deliver a straight punch to his gut, slamming him into the other side of the alley. He remained stuck to the wall for a few seconds before bonelessly flopping to the ground with a pained moan and wet plop.

"Good job guys!" Saito congratulated the pair as he took a Pokéball out from his belt and glanced back at the thoroughly soaked and exhausted Pokémon before him, now finally able to get a good look at it. His eyebrows raised with recognition. He knew this species.

“A Ralts. Hmm,” thinking to himself, Saito gazed towards the downed Pokémon. He was obviously very skilled by the fact he could hold off two Pokémon for a while, not counting how skilled Tanuki was, and he could use a Psychic-typing to help round off his team. Not to mention the fact that it knew Ghost-type moves, which crossed off one critical weakness Nodding to himself, he threw the ball forwards.

"Welcome to the team!" he shouted as the Pokémon was absorbed by the light. Holding the ball in his hand, he turned towards Tanuki and Ronin, equally exhausted yet staring at the ball intensely. Whether it was excitement or irritation, Saito couldn’t quite tell, but he at least was just happy it was over with. Clipping the Pokéball to his belt, Saito turned around and made his way back out of the alley. Finding himself back out onto the street once more, he sighed to himself as he remembered the bet with Louise.

“Dang it, Louise is probably going to beat me at this point…” Saito sighed as he looked for a taxi, the prior one having already driven off. Another taxi soon showed itself, and flagging it down, the taxi parked next to Saito.

“Prism Tower, please,” Saito requested. With a nod, the taxi driver began making his way through the Lumiose streets, leaving Saito to his thoughts.

_‘Yeah, she’s probably already there. I mean, the Gym is seen across all of Lumiose. Who could possibly miss it? Just walk towards the tower and your there.’_

* * *

 

“Where is the Gym?” Louise muttered to herself, staring at the city map to no avail. Unlike the Santalune Map, the Lumiose City map had no dedicated Gym icon, yet she knew that there was one here. She really wished she’d gone with Saito on the taxi, but _no,_ she got confident that she knew the city just because she lived there for three weeks. She didn’t recall hearing anything about a Gym during her stay, why was she so certain she could find it? She debated going back to Professor Sycamore’s lab and asking for directions, but after all her bravado earlier...it would be so embarrassing.

“Do you need some help?” A female voice asked. Slightly started, Louise turned around to see a shorter, teenaged girl with red hair and brown eyes clad in mostly green, a Pokémon she recognized as a Chespin standing by her side. A ways behind her stood a taller, black-haired, blue-eyed boy, clad in black and blue. Who looked an awful lot like Professor Sycamore when she thought about it.

“Er, yes,” Louise admitted in resignation. “I’m looking for this City’s Gym?” the other girl paused, before giggling.

“It’s right over there, silly!” She laughed, pointing at the large tower at the center of the city.

“The Prism Tower?” Louise asked, gazing in its direction. Her obvious confusion only made the girl laugh even harder, only to be cut off by a grunt from the boy.

“Don’t laugh. It’s rude,” the boy admonished, before turning to Louise. “But yes, the Prism Tower doubles as the Lumiose City Pokémon Gym.” Seeing the embarrassment on Louise’s face, he added, “Don’t worry, it’s a surprisingly common mistake. They really should mark that detail on the city maps.”

“They really should,” Louise muttered, shaking off her embarrassment. “Thank you very much for your help!”

With that she ran off towards the tower. It wasn’t until she was halfway there that she realized she forgot to introduce herself, and mentally berated herself for forgetting common courtesy, idly wondering who those two helpful strangers were.

* * *

“Another trainer taking on the League, huh? Brings back memories, doesn’t it, Alain?” the girl asked, a fond smile on her face as she basked in the memories.

“You make it sound like it was years and years ago. It was only last year, you know” the boy, now identified as Alain, chided. He then looked up at the sky. _‘Someday soon...we’ll battle again, Ash.’_

* * *

 

As Louise finally found her way to Prism Plaza, she excitedly thought that she had managed to beat Saito, despite getting lost. That hope was quickly dashed as she noticed a blue clad boy already leaning on the tower with a victorious smirk on his face. Dejected, she slowly made her way over the tower, disappointed in her loss.

“You’re late,” she heard Saito’s voice tease her as she approached. “What’s wrong? Did you get lost?”

“No,” Louise insisted with an embarrassed blush on her face. “I simply took the scenic route.”

 _“Sure_ you did.”

“Moving on,” the pink-haired girl declared, ignoring her black-haired companion. “We have Gym Battles to win.”

“Right, right,” Saito agreed, as the two of them turned towards the Gym. “In all honesty, I can’t really talk about getting distracted. Got caught up in a Pokémon battle before I found a cab. Caught it, though, at least.”

“Wait, really? What kind?” Louise asked her companion as they walked towards the sliding doors, only to jump as a short, blond-haired girl ran out and straight into them. Being considerably shorter than them, neither of the two were really hurt, though the little girl fell backwards.

“Owie...,” the little girl grumbled.

“That’s why I told you to be careful!” Another voice scolded, as a blond-haired boy clad in blue wearing large, circular glasses stepped out. He then kneeled down by the little girl. “Are you alright, Bonnie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she insisted, standing up and using her arms to wipe the dust off of her outfit. She then turned towards Louise and Saito, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. “Sorry about that. Are you two alright?”

“I’m sorry, too,” the taller boy sighed. “My little sister can be a bit of a handful sometimes.”

“We’re fine, don’t worry,” Louise assured him. Not wanting to repeat her faux paus from earlier, she introduced herself. “My name is Louise Valliere.”

“Saito Hiraga,” her companion introduced with a nod.

“My name’s Bonnie!” The little girl stated cheerfully, she then held up the yellow bag she was carrying. “And this is Dedenne!”

There was a moment of silence, before Bonnie got confused and opened the bag herself.

“Asleep again!? But you were awake just a minute ago!” There was a squeaking noise from within the bag, as an orange, rodent-like Pokémon with red circles and black whiskers on its cheeks emerged from her bag, rubbing its eyes sleepily.

“Dedenne, huh?” Louise mused, pulling out her Pokédex.

 _“Dedenne, the Antenna Pokémon. It uses it’s whiskers to communicate with its far-off allies, and can use its tail to absorb electricity, which it then fires from its lower whiskers.”_ The Antenna Pokémon yawned, gave a small wave towards Louise and Saito, and then went right back to sleep. At this, Bonnie sighed before closing her bag and setting it back to its original position. Something told Saito and Louise that this was a common occurrence.

“Moving on, my name is Clemont. It’s nice to meet you.” With all the introductions exchanged, the now-identified Clemont moved on. “So, what brings you to Prism Tower?”

“We’re here to challenge the Gym Leader,” Saito explained.

“Ah,” at this, both sibling’s faces fell.

“What’s wrong?” Saito’s face warped in concern.

“You see, he might not look it, but Clemont is actually the Lumiose Gym Leader!”

“What do you mean I ‘might not look it?’” Clemont screeched in indignation, causing Bonnie to chuckle.

“You are!?” Louise gasped in surprise, not expecting the Gym Leader to be a boy around her age. Saito, on the other hand, developed a resigned look.

“But since you were just leaving...you can’t accept our challenge right now, can you,” Saito deadpanned.

“Nope. Afraid not,” the Lumiose Gym Leader confirmed with a downcast look. “You see, one of my inventions went a bit awry-”

“-by which he means it exploded,” Bonnie interrupted, her face deadpan. Her older brother shot her a look before continuing.

“As I was saying, one of my inventions went a bit awry, and it damaged a few important systems in the Gym. It’s going to take me at _best_ a week to fix them all. At worst, it could take me a whole month.”

“Oh,” the two traveling trainers sighed in unison.

“Normally, I’d be able to have Clem-bot take on your challenge instead, but he’s busy making sure nothing else explodes,” Clemont explained. “So, you’ll have to come back another time.”

“Clem-bot?” Louise questioned.

“Ah, he’s a robot I built to help run the Gym. This Gym is in the center of the largest city in Kalos, so it gets a lot of challengers. Clem-bot usually takes over when I’m gone or need a break.”

“Wow, cool,” Saito admitted, seeing how such a thing could be useful. Louise thought about asking what a ‘robot’ was but decided against it in case it was something that should be obvious to all the natives of this world. She resolved to ask Saito about it later.

“Well, I suppose there’s no choice. We’ll go visit some other Gyms and stop by some other time.” Louise stated. “At the very least, it was very nice to meet you two… What is she doing?” Louise nervously asked Clemont as Bonnie began to look her over with a very intense look in her eyes.

“Hmm,” Bonnie hummed to herself as she circled Louise, her hand resting in her chin. After finishing her circle, the entirety of which made Louise equally confused and slightly uncomfortable, Bonnie smiled and pounded her fist onto her palm. “You’re a keeper!”

“I’m a what?” Louise was entirely lost at this point, while Saito could only look on in confusion and Clemont developed a look of horror. Bonnie, on the other hand, dropped down on one knee and outstretched her arm towards Louise.

“Please marry my brother!” At Bonnie’s earnest declaration, the courtyard went silent, only to be broken as Saito collapsed into a fit of uproarious laughter. Louise turned crimson while Clemont, equally red, extended a large metal arm with three prongs for fingers from his backpack, grabbed Bonnie, and began to drag her away. Bonnie seemed to take it in stride, however.

“I’ve asked you to stop this a million times!” Clemont grumbled to his sister as he dragged her inside.

“Please consider it!” she yelled out with a wave before getting cut off by the Gym doors.

* * *

 

“You were no help at all,” Louise angrily grumbled as she and Saito walked down the street.

“Oh, come on, lighten up!” Saito chuckled. “You have to admit, it was funny.”

“It was humiliating, that’s what it was,” Louise glared back. “What if someone’s little sister or brother asked you to marry their sister?”

“… Is the sister pretty?”

“Saito!”

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Saito laughed as he held out his hands. “I’d say no, don’t worry. I’d rather get to know a person first before I make that big of a decision.”

“That’s good to hear,” Louise nodded. “So…what now?”

“I…don’t really know yet. I’m planning on going up to the next Gym, but there are multiple options that directly connect to Lumiose.”

“Really? Lumiose has multiple Gyms?”

“No, rather they are close by. To the west, there is the Cyllage City gym, which uses Rock-types, to the north is the Laverre City gym, which uses Fairy-types, and to the north-west is the Coumarine City gym, which uses Grass-types. They’re all tempting. What about you?”

“Going to plan out my next move over at Sycamore’s lab. There is no way I’m going to let what happened last time happen again.”

“That’s smart,” Saito nodded as they stopped at an intersection. After getting confirmation to cross, the two teenagers made their way towards Sycamore’s lab, Louise confidently leading the way. She at the very least knew where _this_ was. As they reached the door, however, they paused to allow a man to exit the lab, only for him to stop as he noticed them.

“Sorry, I didn’t think the Professor had aides at the moment,” the man apologized and rubbed the back of his head.

“We’re not working for Sycamore,” Louise clarified with an unspoken ‘anymore’ meant for her. Saito, however, said nothing as he studied the man. He was dressed plain and inconspicuous, with a pair of plain blue jeans and short sleeve shirt along with a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes.

“Ah, you’re trainers then,” the man nodded to himself and cupped his chin. “Are you here to get a starter?”

“No, we’re just staying the night,” Saito explained and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think we’ve caught your name. Mister…?”

“Where are my manners? I’m Nathan, pleased to meet you,” the man now known as Nathan smiled, removing his sunglasses to reveal a pair of blue eyes. He started shaking Saito’s hand before repeating the same to Louise. “Strange that you’re staying with the Professor for the night instead of the Pokémon Center. Must be quite the story behind that.”

“There’s not much to say,” Louise answered the implied question. “He helped me out a few weeks ago and he’s willing to let us stay for the night. Are you by any chance working with Sycamore?”

“No, I’m an aide for Professor Juniper,” Nathan answered, Saito slightly raising an eyebrow. “Professor Sycamore asked her for some notes on a research project on Mega Evolutions and I happened to be in town.” Nathan finished speaking then raised an eyebrow.

“Say, weren’t you there when that Pokémon Mega Evolved in the Santalune Forest?”

“The Beedrill?” Saito covered for Louise as she started staring at her shoes. “Yeah, that was weird. I thought Pokémon needed a keystone to Mega Evolve.”

Nathan stared at them in thought for a moment before responding. “So did I, though I’m sure Sycamore will figure out what happened soon,” he shrugged. “I heard that the Gym was closed temporarily. Any idea what Gym you two will go to next?”

Louise finally managed to pull her eyes off her shoes and responded, “We’re not sure yet, actually. We were going to talk to Sycamore before deciding.” Nathan hummed in thought before nodding.

“I suggest you head to Cyllage. The trail is easier than the ones to Laverre Town or Coumarine, and the Pokémon are usually less aggressive and easier to catch and train, so long as you stay on the trail.” He took a quick glance at his watch and nodded his head towards Saito.

“In any case, it’s been nice meeting you two but I have places I need to be. Be careful out there, you never know who will surprise you.” With this, he took off at a quick jog down the street and soon disappeared.

“What a nice man,” Louise smiled to herself and turned towards the door before noticing Saito not moving, still staring after the man. “Saito? What’s wrong?

“I—” Saito began to answer before being interrupted by the door opening once again, this time from a much more familiar face.

“Ah, Louise. Saito,” Sycamore greeted them from the door. “Come in, come in. I was just about to make lunch. Tell me, how were your battles?”

“Funny thing,” Saito shrugged, “the Gym is inoperable for a week, maybe even a month. We weren’t able to battle.”

“Ah, I see,” Sycamore nodded. “Did one of Clemont’s inventions explode?”

“Yes, actually,” Louise nodded back, causing Sycamore to chuckle.

“Same old Clemont,” Sycamore shook his head. “Funny thing, ninety percent of his inventions end up exploding, but the ten percent that don’t end up revolutionizing everything. Like the Pokédex capable of housing a Rotom. But, enough about that. Come on in, I was about to make lunch.” Opening the door, Sycamore led Louise and Saito inside, closing it behind them.

[~][~]


	19. Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito run into a old enemy, sparking an intense rivalry between them.

**Outsiders (Pokemon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 4**

[~][~]

Alone in his study, Sycamore continued to compile his notes. He had been working tirelessly on this research ever since Viola frantically called him that night, and only through sheer willpower and coffee was he able to stay awake. It didn’t help that the League had contacted him directly about the event. They had been rightfully concerned about a non-Legendary Pokémon Mega-Evolving without a keystone, and he couldn’t blame them. So far, the League was satisfied with his preliminary findings that he mailed them, but the sooner he could give a definitive answer the better. That it happened to Louise, a person he had come to care for deeply, only made him work harder. Especially since it appeared that she was the cause.

“What a mess,” Sycamore sighed and rubbed his forehead. Reaching for a glass of water, he felt a distinct shake of the ground, causing him to lightly chuckle.

“Those two are still at it,” he took a gulp of his drink. Immediately after their lunch, just a couple of sandwiches and sodas, Saito and Louise had gone out to the practice arenas next to the lab. Many trainers utilized it and given how Louise seemed dead set on becoming champion, she immediately dragged Saito over to them.

“Honestly, those two are quite the help to each other,” laughing to himself, Sycamore refocused onto the task at hand. With any luck, he’d be finished by midnight tonight and would finally remember what it was like to get some proper sleep.

* * *

 

“Brennaraki, move!” Louise ordered. Brennaraki immediately jumped backwards while letting off an Ember towards a swooping Aile, who nimbly dodged the fireball. “Aile, do a fast feint!” she promptly ordered her other Pokémon. Aile dived with a Quick Attack, aiming towards Brennaraki’s right side. Charging up a Psywave, Brennaraki let it loose towards the speeding bird, who at the last second spun out of the way and struck the fox’s left side.

“Good job, Aile! Brennaraki, watch out for feints!” Ever since the battle against the collector, Louise had been thinking about how that battle had gone. Something she had noticed was how he reacted to her attempts at commanding Espirit. He had no idea what she was talking about, which threw him off significantly. She wasn’t willing to purposefully make up names for every single move her Pokémon could learn, but Louise figured that coming up with distinct move combos could be a huge advantage for her. At the same time, she wanted to further her Pokémon’s skills, and so far, battling other Pokémon seemed to get the best results. As such, she had Brennaraki and Aile battle each other, with her alternating giving them commands.

‘ _So, this is training? Seems tedious…but if this will make me stronger…_ ’ Espirit grunted, standing by Louise’s side and concentrating on her hands. She wasn’t quite ready to battle the others, so right now she was practicing on improving her psychic abilities by trying to get Heal Pulse down.

On the other side of the practice field, Saito was doing the exact same thing with his Pokémon. He was having Tanuki and Ronin spar against each other, and the two of them were proving to be quite a show. Tanuki with his martial arts and Ronin with his scalchop, trading blow for blow. However, instead of ordering his Pokémon like she was, he was preoccupied with his latest capture.

“Maindo, come on!” he pleaded to a clutched Pokéball. “We’re not going to get better if you don’t come out!” Over lunch, Saito had told Louise and Sycamore how he come across his latest capture, a male Ralts he named Maindo. Apparently, it meant “mind” in some ancient Kantoan dialect, which his family originally came from before they immigrated to Unova. He thought that this would be a perfect time to bring him out and get to know him a bit more, but so far things haven’t gone over so well.

"Just come out already!" Saito commanded only to have something bounce off the back of his head. On closer examination, the object turned out was a chip. Scowling, Saito turned around to spot Maindo as he casually sat on a rock, eating out of an open bag of Tamato flavored chips.

"Look you can eat later but for no-" Saito started only to have Maindo blow a raspberry, spraying him with half chewed up chips, and teleport to the other side of the training arena.

“Grrh,” Saito growled before walking away in a huff. Maindo laughed as he did, but Saito paid him no heed as he walked up to Louise.

“Having trouble with Maindo?” Louise asked in a sincere tone.

“Arceus, yes!” Saito threw his hands into the air. “He doesn’t listen to a thing I say, and when he does he deliberately misinterprets my commands!” Louise saw that earlier, and from what she saw it seemed that Maindo was deliberately disobeying Saito’s commands. When Saito had told Maindo to use Confusion, he used Double Team. When he asked him to do something called Shadow Sneak, Maindo instead used Teleport and completely vanished for the past ten minutes, apparently to steal the bag of chips he was currently eating out of. At least Maindo wasn’t trying to hurt Saito, but whether that was because he didn’t want to, or the other Pokémon were with them remained to be seen.

“What am I going to do? I’ll never be able to use him in battle at this rate,” Saito sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed his hair. Louise sighed and, with a wave of her hand, beckoned her Pokémon to continue their training and sat down beside him.

“Want my advice?” Louise asked, and after a moment he nodded. “You need to put your foot down. Hard, if need be. He won’t listen on his own? Make him. You’re the trainer, make him recognize that. Otherwise, he’ll never respect you and this will keep happening.”

“That’s only going to alienate him more,” Saito retorted before sighing. “I just don’t get it. I mean, I didn’t have this problem with Tanuki and Ronin! You didn’t even have this problem with Aile! But Maindo, Arceus he just…”

“An asshole?” Louise repeated what Saito called her classmates before, causing him to sigh.

“I was going to say difficult,” Saito groaned into his hands while Louise stared at Maindo, who seemed particularly keen on Saito’s current frustration. He almost seemed to be enjoying it. Narrowing her eyes, Louise got to her feet and turned towards Espirit.

“Louise?” Saito asked, rising to his feet.

“Stay there, I’ll take care of this,” Louise began to walk towards her Ralts, who stopped her psychic weightlifting as she approached. She knelt to Espirit’s level, and while Saito couldn’t quite hear what she was saying, it evidently got Espirit to stop what she was doing and walk over to Maindo.

“What did you…?” Saito watched Espirit walk over to Maindo in slight confusion.

“I asked Espirit to try and talk some sense into him,” Louise explained as she and Saito watched the two Ralts begin to talk among themselves. “Figured that a fellow Ralts would make him more at ease.”

“Huh,” Saito hummed to himself as he watched them continue to talk. As the conversation stretched on, he allowed himself to smile. Maybe this would work. “What do you know?”

“See? All that was needed was a woman’s—” Louise’s reply was cut off by a loud slap, catching everyone’s attention. She and Saito could only stare wide-eyed as Espirit stormed off in a huff, leaving Maindo behind, who was rubbing his cheek and smirking.

“Espirit? Espirit, what did he say?” Louise asked as her Ralts stomped up to her. A barrage of images soon flooded her mind. “WHY THAT VULGAR LITTLE…. I’LL KILL HIM!” Louise began to stomp over to Maindo, eager to give him a piece of her mind, only to be stopped by Saito.

“Whoa, whoa! Calm down!” Saito attempted to placate the enraged girl, the fact that Maindo started cackling wasn’t helping in the slightest.

“OUT OF THE WAY, SAITO!” Louise demanded as she attempted to get around the boy, who blocked her path at every turn. After few more attempts, Louise stopped trying and took a few breaths to calm herself down, albeit with an enraged glare still directed towards Maindo. Seeing how Louise wasn’t trying to murder his Pokémon anymore, Saito turned around to look at a still smirking Maindo.

“What the hell did you say to her?” he asked, turning his head towards Louise, still glaring at the smirking Maindo with murderous intent.

“You stay away from Espirit, you mangy dog.” Louise huffed and stormed off towards the lab, recalling her Pokémon as she did. It appeared that, in her anger, she either ignored or didn’t hear Saito’s question. Left alone in the arena, he could only sigh.

“Well, looks like training is done for today,” he rubbed the back of his head before turning back to his Pokémon. He quickly noted that both Ronin and Tanuki were glaring at Maindo. Evidently, they too heard what he told Espirit, and they weren’t at all pleased. Seeing this, Saito began to glare at the Ralts, who continued to smirk.

“You know no one likes an asshole, right?” Maindo’s smirk bloomed into a full smile, causing Saito to sigh and recall his Pokémon. Holding Maindo’s Pokéball in hand, he stared intensely at it before clipping it to his belt. Someday, hopefully soon, Maindo would come around. He just knew it.

* * *

 

When Saito finally returned to the lab, he found Louise sitting and grumbling at the table, drinking a soda straight out of can. A silent glare directed towards him, or rather one of the Pokéballs currently clipped to his belt, told him she was not in a good moon.

“Well,” Saito rubbed the back of his head and took an involuntary step back, “whatever it was that Maindo said to Espirit, I’m sorry.” Louise said nothing and continued to sip her drink, still glaring at the Pokéball.

“I can see that you are mad,” Saito held out his hand and stepped back even further. Seventeen years of life was screaming at him that now was a good time to leave, and he was going to follow that advice. “I’m just…going to get something to eat. I’ll be at the bakery we ate breakfast at if you need me.” Silently nodding, Saito turned and left the lab, Louise never getting out of her seat. The door shut behind him, Saito sighed and hunched over.

“That could have gone better,” he groaned before walking off. Certain that the foul mood Louise found herself in would wear off in time, Saito allowed his thoughts to drift towards what he was going to eat.  There were a lot of options, from sandwiches to pizzas. He could even have breakfast again, if he wanted. All this and more was on his mind as he entered the bakery and grabbed a table. Pulling out a menu, he held it close to his face to where he couldn’t see anything else.

“What to pick, what to pick,” he mumbled as he browsed the menu, only to stop as he heard a chair slide out. Lowering the menu, he saw the chair opposite of his being held by a tanned woman around his age. She was wearing a navy-blue dress with white trim, her verdette hair held up by a silky hair band. Her dark maroon eyes bored straight into his own, causing Saito to blush.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this seat taken? _Keeheehee…_ ” she laughed in a silky tone.

“Umm, I…uh,” Saito stammered and sat up straighter, trying to be polite. “No, no it isn’t.” The woman smiled at his answer and began to sit down.

“Do you mind if I sit here? This really is the best seat in the house,” Saito stole a glance towards a large empty booth right next to the window. He was about to point it out to the woman when he noticed that her eyes never left him, and with a deep blush he rubbed the back of his head.

“I…I guess,” he nervously laughed. The woman, taking this as an answer, sat down completely and pulled the chair up to the table and pulled out a menu of her own. Silently, Saito pulled his menu up as well and began to read, taking a discreet look at the woman sitting across from him.

“Where are my manners?” the woman suddenly put her menu down and placed her hand on her chest. “I don’t believe that either of us have been properly introduced.”

“Oh, uh…” Saito, surprised, put his menu down and coughed. “I’m Saito. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…?”

“Elizabeth,” she chuckled softly and held out her hand, which Saito slowly grabbed. “Charmed.”

* * *

 

“Where is he?” Louise paced around the lab kitchen. It had been an hour since Saito left for the bakery, and he still wasn’t back yet. It was only a five-minute walk from the lab, and it shouldn’t have taken him so long to eat and get back. She was starting to get worried.

“Louise, he’s fine,” Sycamore yawned as he held a mug of steaming coffee in his hands. He had only just finished compiling and sending out the Mega Beedrill Event notes to the interested parties, and now he was just wanting to relax. A stressed out teenaged girl was not helping him do that. “Stop stressing.”

“Still,” she crossed her arms and huffed. Sycamore sighed and gestured for her to sit next to him, which Louise did, her arms still crossed.

“Listen, he’s fine. He has his Pokémon with him, and even if one of them has an attitude problem—”

“Don’t remind me,” Louise grumbled, only to be cut off by a flat look from Sycamore. His normal patience had been burned out by the sleepless nights, and Louise promptly quieted herself.

“As I was saying, he is safe with them around. There is no need to walk around like a restless Meowth that just lost its coin.”

“Yeah…,” Louise sighed before straightening out. “Regardless, I’m going to go find him.” Before Sycamore could even come up with a reply, Louise was already walking out the door.

“Geez,” he sighed and rubbed his forehead. Turning his head, he saw Garchomp looking at him with a knowing stare. “There is no use dissuading that girl once she has her mind set on something, is there?” Garchomp grunted and shook her head.

* * *

 

Closing the door behind her, Louise began to march straight to the bakery. Despite the Professor’s reassurances, she couldn’t help but worry about him. What if something went wrong? Did another Pokémon attack him? Did he get lost, finally? All these worries and more swirled in her head as the bakery came in sight.

“There he is,” Louise noted as she spotted Saito sitting at a table. It appeared he was talking to someone, having a good time. She couldn’t see who it was, as the person he was speaking to was obscured by someone else. Saito glanced over out the window to see her standing there and smiled before waving her over.

“I swear,” she shook her head and walked into the bakery. “Saito, you better have a good…” Louise trailed off as she finally got a good look at the person Saito had been talking to. A woman, a very familiar woman.

“What is this?” Louise’s voice had a much sharper edge to it than normal, which Saito appeared to not notice.

“Louise, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, Louise,” Saito obliviously ‘introduced’ the two. Elizabeth turned around in her chair and gave a faux smile to Louise, her eyes shining with devious intent. Getting out of her chair, she lightly laughed and walked towards her, arms spread wide as if going for a hug.

“You must be Louise!” she said brightly, the disquieting feel she had projected the last time the two girls had gotten so close was almost palpable despite her only spreading her arms for what appeared to be a friendly embrace. “Saito has told me so much about you! You must be quite the lucky little girl to have a friend like him!”

“…We’ve been travelling together recently, yes.” Louise fumed, glaring at both people in front of her.

“Saito told me about your travels together. Oh, what fun you two must have had!” Elizabeth laughed, tilting her head slightly to brush a few stray curls away from her face, then turned to look at the still oblivious Saito, the set of her smile shifting to something more possessive. “But I just couldn’t possibly go on my own! Such journeys are best done with friends, after all. Sadly, none of my friends are quite into that kind of thing. If only there was someone who shared my desire to see the world. _Keh heh._ ”

“Don’t give up! Keep looking,” Saito earnestly advised, still not fully grasping her intent but nevertheless blushing. “I’m sure you’ll find someone to travel with soon. I mean, so far traveling with Louise has been…” Saito trailed off, his smile going away as he finally took in the sight of a furious Louise glaring at him and Elizabeth with murderous intent. It was almost as if Louise was trying to set fire to them both from her eyes.

“Louise is something wrong?” Saito asked in confusion, not understanding what got her upset. He reached out for her, only for Louise to slap his hand away.

“I’m fine,” She growled and walked away. “Don’t let me interrupt your date.” At that, Louise walked out and slammed the door behind her, walking away in a huff.

“This isn’t a…” Saito tried to protest but was too late. All eyes were on him and Elizabeth, and he sighed. “I should go after her. I’m sorry, don’t know what was up with her. She’s not usually like this…at least to this extent.”

“Simple jealousy, I’ve seen it countless times,” Elizabeth replied, her tone almost pitying as she turned away from the door and let her countenance relax into a more genuine smile. “It would cause more harm than good to go after her now. Give her some space and let her cool off on her own terms. Trust me, I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.” She walked back to her seat and sat down, brushing a few curls away and met Saito’s eyes again, entirely unfazed by what had just happened.

“Still…,” Saito rubbed his head and looked back at Elizabeth. “Have you two met each other before or something?”

“She’s a rather distinctive individual, I’m sure that I would remember her if we had met,” Elizabeth chuckled, her tone regaining her earlier joviality.

* * *

 

“WHY THAT NO GOOD, BACKSTABBING, MANGY DOG!” Louise screamed in an alleyway next to the bakery. Kicking a trashcan, she pulled her hair and screamed in absolute rage. How dare he! How dare he spend time with that thieving witch!

“STUPID DOG!” she shouted and kicked a trash can hard, too hard in fact as she clutched her foot in pain. Hopping on one foot, she sat herself down, took off her boot, and began to rub, fuming in her rage. As she did, one of her Luxury Balls opened on her own, revealing a concerned Espirit.

“Espirit? Why did you…?” Louise shook her head in realization. “Oh right, you can sense emotions. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just…venting.” Louise replied before clutching her foot, wincing as she squeezed the injured toe. Espirit looked at her trainer in concern and walked over to injured foot. Placing her hands on the injured foot, Espirit closed her eyes and concentrated. A faint pink glow soon enveloped her hands and spread to the foot, and after a moment the pain subsided.

“Looks like you finally got Heal Pulse down,” Louise smiled before looking downcast. Noticing this, Espirit look up at her trainer in concern, and a few images danced across Louise’s mind.

“Saito being an idiot, that’s what happened,” Louise shook her head with a frown. More images flashed, and she sighed.

“He was having a date with Elizabeth Colette, the person who tried to steal Brennaraki,” Louise scowled. “ _After_ I told him what she did! How could he?!” More images appeared, causing Louise to look at her Pokémon in confusion.

“What do you mean? Of course I told him who she was.” More images appeared, and Louise squinted her eyes. “I told him that a thief tried to steal Brennaraki… Oh.” Louise’s eyes widened in realization.

‘ _I never told him her name or what she looked like…’_ Louise thought and slapped herself in the forehead. How could she be so stupid! How was he supposed to know that Elizabeth was the thief if she never told him what her name was or what she looked like! Shaking her head, Louise looked back down at Espirit, a thought coming to her head.

“Espirit, does he know who Elizabeth is?” She had to be sure, and sure enough Espirit scrunched her face as she concentrated on the nearby bakery, trying to isolate Saito’s mind from all the others. After a few moments, the Ralts shook her head.

“He doesn’t know,” Louise narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “…Does Elizabeth know who he is? Before they met up here?” Once again, Espirit concentrated, this time on Elizabeth, and after a much longer period of time opened her eyes her eyes with an exhausted nod. The images painted a more complete picture, one of Elizabeth, by pure circumstance it seemed, spotting Saito and Louise enter the city together and coming upon Saito all alone at the café. It looked to be a sort of tit-for-tat behavior meant to get back at Louise for the last time they met. Clenching her fist and grinding her teeth, Louise’s anger returned in full force, only now directed towards a much more deserving target.

“Why that little…” Louise scowled before a thought entered her head. She then stood up with a wicked smile emblazoned on her face. Elizabeth tried to pretend that they had never met, did she? Two could play that game.

“Thank you, Espirit. I’ll take it from here,” her wicked smile still shining, Louise returned a content Espirit to her Luxury Ball and began to march back to the bakery. Walking through the doors, she walked right over to Saito and Elizabeth, their conversation ending as she did.

“Louise, you came back!” Saito smiled while Elizabeth’s smile turned brittle. “Listen, I wanted to…”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Louise waved her hand. “My behavior was unacceptable and uncouth. You did not deserve that, and I apologize. May I?” Louise pointed towards another empty chair. Elizabeth flinched and was about to say something when Saito cut her off.

“Sure, go right ahead. We have plenty of room,” Saito got up and pulled the chair out for her. With a smile, Louise sat down and made herself comfortable while Saito smiled in relief and Elizabeth looked at her in noticeable worry and concern.

“So, Elizabeth, was it?” Louise played coy, causing Elizabeth’s eyes to narrow. “Tell me, how did you and Saito meet?”

“I met him here,” Elizabeth replied after a beat. “He seemed so lonely that I couldn’t bear to just stand by.”

“Oh, so you’re a good Samaritan, then?” Louise smirked, causing the verdette to slowly nod.

“O-of course. One must be kind and courteous in all actions, after all.”

“I one-hundred percent agree,” Louise’s smile grew wider while Elizabeth’s face scrunched slightly in suspicion. “It is only proper to consider how one’s actions could hurt someone else before undertaking them.”

“I’m living proof of that,” Saito mumbled to his breath, only to receive a playful bop on the head.

“Oh, hush you,” Saito looked confused at Louise’s behavior now, sensing that something was up. Good, her plan was working. “Your dress is marvelous, by the way. Where’d you get it, I’m on the market for some new clothes and I only the best.”

“It’s one of a kind, custom tailored,” Elizabeth earnestly smiled, believing that the rosecrown had given up her advantage. “Cost a fortune, but I’m quite fond of the result.”

“I see, no expense is too great? Let nothing get in the way of what you want, am I right?” Saito squinted his eyes at Louise’s answer while she faintly smirked. “I’m the same way, but I always strive to make sure that I keep others in mind. Don’t want to hurt anyone, after all.” Louise turned to look at the now thoroughly confused boy, whose eyes were rapidly shifting between the two girls.

“Am I…missing something?” he looked between the two girls, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Louise merely laughed and waved him off, her eyes telling him to wait.

“Oh nothing, nothing at all,” Elizabeth replied, her tone hardening as she glared daggers at the smug rosecrown.

“So, Elizabeth, you mentioned travelling. You a Pokémon trainer?” Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and nodded. “So am I! Want to meet my Pokémon?” Elizabeth’s flinched and made a strangled sound Saito’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“No, no that’s not necessary…” Elizabeth waved her hands, trying to dissuade the rosecrown, who only smiled wider.

“Nonsense! This is a Pokémon friendly venue after all,” Louise pulled out a Luxury Ball, her smile turning wicked. “This is my starter, Brennaraki. Say hello.” Before Elizabeth could protest further, Louise released the Fennekin stored inside. Shaking herself, Brennaraki smiled at Louise before turning to introduce herself to the woman, only to back up and snarl as she recognized the woman in front of her.

“What is…” Suddenly it clicked, and Saito’s blood ran cold. “…It was you. You were the one who tried to steal Brennaraki that night…”

“Yep,” Louise confirmed, crossing her arms behind her head while Elizabeth looked panicked. Saito, however, merely looked enraged as he looked at the verdette, demanding answers.

“Did you know I was travelling together with her?” Saito demanded, only for Louise to answer for her.

“She saw us come in together, yes,” Louise smirked with a glare directed towards the scowling Elizabeth. “When she saw you all alone, it was an opportunity to get back at me she couldn’t pass up.” Saito’s scowl deepened, and Elizabeth’s panic increased.

“Listen, she—” Elizbeth tried to defend herself, only to be cut off as Saito clenched the glass hard enough to form a small hairline fracture barely noticeable to the human eye. In a state of tunnel vision, Saito stood up and doused Elizabeth’s with its contents. Slamming the glass down with an audible crack, Saito stormed out of the café without saying a word, not even looking back. Louise began to smile wickedly, only for it to turn into shock as she took in the sight of Elizabeth’s face. Before Elizabeth could ask what was wrong, a sharp pain erupted on her face as blood began to drip down.

Clutching her face, Elizabeth ran to the restroom, Louise quickly following after her to help. Opening the door, she saw Elizabeth starring in horror at her reflection, specifically at a large jagged cut that was now marking her face.

“Founder…,” Louise gasped before flinching back as Elizabeth turned to look at her, face twisted in absolute rage.

“Look at this!” she pointed to the cut while grabbing a few more paper towels to wipe it off.

“Okay, I know it looks bad, but I have a Ralts that knows Heal Pulse. She can—” Louise offered while holding up Espirit’s Luxury Ball, only to be cut off as Elizabeth stormed up to her.

“Does it look like I want your help!?” Elizabeth barked back and pointed at the shocked Louise. “This entire month has been one disaster after another, all because of _you_ and your stupid boyfriend!”

“What did _I_ do?” Louise threw her arms out.

“Everything!” Elizabeth broadly accused. “Because of you, I got cut off from my parents! Because of you, I had to get a dead end job just to get anything decent anymore! Because of you, I have to deal with coworkers I despise and serve customers I hate! Because of you, I got this cut that’s likely going to scar! Everything wrong that’s happened to me has been because of you! So no, I don’t want your help!”

“…Okay then,” Louise scowled, her earlier sympathy now replaced with irritation, and stared back unflinching. “What is it that you want?”

“I want a rematch,” the verdette resolutely declared, much to Louise’s surprise.

“…What?” Louise stared back blankly, while Elizabeth merely fumed.

“I. Want. A rematch,” Elizabeth emphasized slowly. “Otherwise I report him to the police.” Louise fumed at her theat. Yes, it looked bad, but it was an accident. Saito deserved a scolding, at most, not getting reported to the police. Plus, she was his friend. Her first human friend in a very long time, and the fact that she was threatening her friend made the decision clear.

“Fine,” Louise scoffed. “Only if you leave Saito out of this.”

“Deal,” Elizabeth agreed. Louise held out her hand to mark the agreement, but Elizabeth angrily brushed passed her and out the restroom door. Clenching her teeth in anger, Louise turned around and followed after her. She caught up to her in short order, but none of them said a word.

* * *

 

“I have never been so humiliated in my life,” Saito sulked at the practice arena. “I should have seen it but- Gagh!” Saito threw his hands in the air in exasperation. In hindsight, the warning signs were there. The excessive laughing, the overly flirtatious behavior, she was just using him to get to her. As he continued to sulk, he spotted Louise enter view. He got up to apologize once again, only to scowl as he saw Elizabeth walking beside her.

“What do you want- What happened to your face!?” Saito’s anger turned to shock as he spotted the bandages now covering Elizabeth’s face. Rather than answer him, she glared at him before stomping to one end of the practice arena. As Louise began to move to the other, Saito stopped her in a great deal of confusion.

“Louise, what is going on? What happened?” He asked in a great amount of worry.

“I’ll tell you after the battle. Right now, I need you to be the referee,” Louise replied while glaring at Elizabeth. Walking over to her end of the arena, Louise placed her hand next to her belt. “So, how we doing this?”

“How many Pokémon do you have?” Elizabeth demanded, her hand slipping inside of her navy purse.

“Three,” Louise answered, showing her Luxury Balls with a hint of pride.

“Then I’ll use three as well,” Elizabeth pulled three Pokéballs out of her purse and held them out before strapping them to the purse’s exterior.

“I’m surprised you even have more than one Pokémon,” Louise admitted, causing Elizabeth’s teeth to clench before she regained composure.

“If you must know, I have built a collection of rare and powerful Pokémon for years, and my family has hired the best trainers in the region to train and care for them. All live in the lap of luxury at the Collete Lumiose Estate, which is more than I can say about that Fennekin of yours.” Elizabeth scowled.

“You tried to steal her!” Louise accused, causing Elizabeth to flinch back before scowling.

“I was not stealing her!” Elizabeth stomped the ground in protest, deeply offended. “I was going to leave ten times her value on the desk! That’s more funds than Augustine could get on his own for an entire year! I was buying her! I would never stoop so low as to steal something!”

“’Buying’ something without permission is still stealing, thief,” Louise scowled, growing impatient. “Go on and release your Pokémon already.” Elizabeth snarled before pulling out a Pokéball.

“Well, I guess we’re doing this,” Saito grumbled to himself before walking over to the referee’s box. Putting his personal feelings aside, Saito dusted himself off and did his best referee impersonation. “This will be a three on three Pokémon battle. Standard rules apply, and eliminations are by knockout or ring out. Are the trainers ready?”

“Of course,” Elizabeth huffed.

“I am,” Louise declared with confidence.

“As the challenger, Elizabeth gets to choose her Pokémon second. Louise, you may release your Pokémon.”

“Thank you, Saito,” Louise smiled and threw out a Luxury Ball. “Let’s show her who’s boss, Brennaraki!”  The shiny Fennekin exploded onto the battlefield, a confident smile emblazoned on her snout.

“Alright then,” Elizabeth’s predatory grin unchanged as she prepared to do the same. “Let’s see how you handle this. Go, Gengar!”

“You have a what!?” Saito shouted and Louise blanched as the Pokéball opened, releasing a round, spiked purple shadow. Shaking, and her confidence rapidly shrinking, Louise pulled out her Pokédex to scan the creature.

“ _Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon. The final evolved form of Gastly, Gengars have the ability to blend themselves into any shadow, granting them extraordinary stealth capabilities they use for hunting, evasion, and the occasional prank,_ ” the Pokedex’s voice sounded off.

“How…how do you…?” Louise finally sputtered out, causing Elizabet’s smirk to redouble.

“My collection, remember,” she announced as if it were obvious. “All three of my Pokémon come from it. They’ll be more than enough to… Where’d Gengar go?” Elizabeth blinked her eyes and looked around a suddenly empty field, outside of an equally confused Brennaraki.

“Umm…,” Louise scratched her head, trying to find the suddenly missing Pokémon. As the humans and Pokémon continued to search for the Gengar, a shrill scream suddenly directed their attention. Turning to the source, they saw a young girl laying down on the ground, pointing at a laughing Gengar, her brother doing the same at her misfortune.

“What?” Elizabeth’s flat tone sold her confusion, along with everyone else, though one could hear the rage simmering underneath, before she shook her head and snarled. “Gengar, get back here!” Rather than come back, Gengar turned to her and blew a raspberry before disappearing again. A few seconds later, a new scream shouted out.

_‘Guess he’s more interested in pranking than battling…_ ” Louise droned as she turned towards a horrified Elizabeth.

“Uhh… Gengar has left the field, apparently. He is out by voluntary ring out, I guess…” Saito was just as confused as everyone else, but rules were rules.

“What?!” Elizabeth shrieked in protest, but after a moment shook her head in conceit. Conceding, Elizabeth pulled out her Pokéball to return the Gengar, only for the recall beam to fizzle out before it could reach the Pokémon, which was now scaring more passerby from behind a wall. Grumbling to herself, Elizabeth pulled out her second Pokéball. “Go, Sharpedo!”

“Sharpedo?” Louise raised her eyebrow as the Pokémon in question came out onto the battlefield. It was as blue, shark-like Pokémon without a tail, a red star on its forehead. She might have been intimidated by it, had the Sharpedo not been flopping around like a fish out of water. Which, now that she thought about it, it kind of was. Seeing how it wasn’t doing anything anytime soon, Louise calmly took out her Pokédex and activated its scan function.

“ _Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon. The evolved form of Carvanha, Sharpedo patrols the oceans using jets of water ejected out of its back. Gangs of Sharpedo are brutal towards all in their territory, earning the species the title of Bully of the Sea._ ”

‘ _Guess outside of the sea they’re a bit helpless…_ ’ Louise sweat dropped as the shark continued to flop around. Judging by the look on its face, it was not happy. Neither was Elizabeth for that matter.

“Stop flopping around and actually do something!” She commanded. With a snarl, Sharpedo decided to follower her command by turning around and blasting Elizabeth with a jet of water that erupted out of its mouth. Thoroughly drenched, Elizabeth shrieked and fell down on the ground before hissing as the salt water stung her cut. Ignoring the slight pain and still sitting, Elizabeth angrily recalled the disobedient Pokémon.

“Is… Is that a retire or…?” Saito asked in extreme confusion. He was not expecting this battle to play out this way, and a quick look at Louise told him she felt the same.

“Yes!” Elizabeth spat out, angrily placing the Pokéball back in her bag. This was turning into a disaster, and her rage was growing by the second. Another hiss of pain escaped her, causing her to reach inside her purse to pull out a handkerchief to dry herself with.

“So… Are any of your Pokémon actually going to battle or…?” Louise numbly asked. Elizabeth went still for a moment before slowly placing the handkerchief back inside her purse, her green hair covering her face. Rising upward, she looked up at Louise to reveal a face twisted into a rictus of manic fury. She removed a Pokéball from her bag, ignoring the last one clipped to its side.

“I know this one will! Go, Machamp!” The Pokémon erupted onto the battlefield, revealing a grey humanoid creature with four muscular arms. Standing upright, it flexed its muscles downward and roared out a challenge, causing Louise to sweat. This one seemed eager to fight, and in a hurry, she once again scanned the Pokémon in front of her.

“ _Machamp, the Superpower Pokémon. The final evolved form of Machop, they can throw five hundred punches a second and with its four arms can attack in multiple directions at once._ ” Louise gulped at this information, nervous about her chances and slightly hoping that it too would run off. Seeing that it didn’t, and with the Fighting-type staring straight at her in anticipation, Louise shook herself out of her stupor and steeled herself.

“Well, I don’t care how big it is! It’s going down. Brennaraki, use Ember!” Louise shouted her command, which Brennaraki spat out in defiance. It zoomed towards the Machamp’s face and impacted harmlessly. Machamp finally looked down and saw Brennaraki, who was surprised at how her attack did nothing but, rather than cower in fear she growled in defiance.

“Machamp! Use Mega Punch!” Elizabeth shouted an order, ecstatic that one of her collection was listening to her. A few moments passed, and when the Machamp did nothing she grew impatient. “Machamp?” Turning around to look at the verdette, Machamp gestured all four of its arms down at the defiant Brennaraki, ignoring another fireball striking his head.

“ _You want me to fight that?!”_ he knew that his owner wouldn’t understand him, but he hoped his point got across. Apparently, it did, as Elizabeth growled in anger.

“Yes, you’re fighting the Fennekin!” Elizabeth stomped in frustration, causing Machamp to frown.

_“I was promised a fight, not…this!”_ Machamp gestured down to Brennaraki once again. Brennaraki tried to take advantage of his distracted state by firing a Psywave at his head, but once again the attack was far too weak to do anything to him. With an amused chuckle, he nodded down at the shiny Fennekin and redirected his attention to his increasingly exasperated trainer.

“You fight what I tell you to fight! Now do something for once!” With a scowl, Machamp looked back down at Brennaraki, currently chewing on his ankles, and picked her up. Holding her up to his face, he didn’t even blink when she launched a fireball straight at him.

“ _…Forget this. I am not lowering myself to this level,”_ Machamp grumbled and lowered Brennaraki to the ground as he knelt. Elizabeth began to shout in protest, but an angry glare quickly silenced her. Brennaraki moved to attack him again, but an open palm stopped her.

“ _Listen, kid. You got spunk. I like that, but I’m not going to fight you. We both know how a fight between us would turn out.”_ Brennaraki responded by growling.

_“Says you!”_ she barked. “ _I don’t care how big you are! I never back down!”_ Rather than get angry, Machamp unleashed a throaty laughed that bellowed across the field.

“ _Now THAT’S what I like to see!”_ he patted her on the back, not hard enough to hurt her but enough to get his original point across, as a contemplative look crossed his face. “ _Still, this isn’t a challenge for me, and it isn’t fair to you. Plus, I_ really _don’t like her, so I’m not going to listen to her.”_

“ _So…you’re giving up?_ ” Brennaraki looked both relieved and disappointed, which turned into confusion as he slowly shook his head.

“ _No, where’s the fun in that?”_ Machamp smirked. “ _And besides, I ain’t a quitter either. No, I have a much better idea. I’m going to throw the match, and you’re going to help me.”_

_“…how?”_ Brennaraki was now thoroughly confused but at the same time intrigued.

“ _You ever watch PWE?_ ”

* * *

 

“Saito?” Louise asked, her mind failing to comprehend what she was seeing. For the past ten minutes, Brennaraki and Machamp had been doing something indescribable to the rosecrown, and at this point they had attracted quite the following as more and more bystanders came by to watch and cheer the two Pokémon on.

“Yes, Louise?” Saito stifled back his laughter, fully comprehending what was transpiring in front of him.

“What in the Founder’s name am I looking at?”

“Something glorious, Louise. Something glorious.” Saito declared as Brennaraki launched herself off Machamp’s raised foot like a platform to deliver an approximation of an elbow drop on the large Pokémon.

With exaggerated movements, Machamp cried out in faux pain and hurled his body upwards from the ‘impact’. Not missing a beat, Brennaraki grabbed his massive leg with her tiny mouth and began to heave. Twirling him around in a circle, with subtle assistance from the Machamp, Brennaraki hurled him across the field. ‘Skidding’ to a halt in front of a seething Elizabeth, Machamp quickly got up and charged at Brennaraki, who charged towards him as well. He reached to grab her with his four arms, only for her to slide under them and in between his legs while grabbing one of the fingers. Machamp then flipped himself onto his back and rolled around in ‘pain’ while Brennaraki turned around and ran back to his prone form. She began to kick him in the stomach, each ‘blow’ causing him to flinch. Having enough, Brennaraki flipped him over, again with subtle assistance, and climbed on top of his back. Grabbing his leg, she began to heave, causing Machamp to slam his fists on the ground in ‘agony’ until Brennaraki stopped. Rushing over to his head and shoulders, Brennaraki wrapped her body around them in an approximation of a full nelson and began to force the larger Pokémon to submit. As she did this, a large shadow then appeared as Gengar made himself known as he knelt down and started an approximation of a countdown. Machamp attempted to free himself, but as Gengar counted down to ten he went slack and conceded.

“Machamp, ha-ha, Machamp has conceded, ha-ha!” Saito barely managed to get out through his laughs as Brennaraki stood triumphant on top of her defeated foe. Before anyone could react further, Gengar grabbed Brennaraki’s paw and hoisted it upwards as if he were announcing a new champion, an action that caused Saito’s will to finally break.

“Brennaraki is the winner! Hahaha! Arceus, I can’t breathe!” He doubled over and clutched his stomach as he began to laugh profusely. The other’s in the stand did so as well, along with many hoots and cheers.

Elizabeth screamed in rage before quickly returning the Machamp and running out of the practice arena, tears running down her face, as her anger granted her the strength to bash the spectators out of her way. The Gengar, seeing his owner flee the scene, turned and bowed to his audience before floating after her, the laughter of the spectators all echoing all around.

“I don’t understand anything about what just happened,” Louise admitted as the crowd began to disperse and Saito, still chuckling, walked up to her.

“I’ll explain in the lab. Come on,” Saito chuckled one last time before walking away. Louise, still confused, followed him, while a victorious feeling Brennaraki pranced after them, imaginary thoughts of a belt filling her mind.

[~][~]


	20. Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saito and Louise become permanent traveling companions while Elizabeth Collette deals with the consequences of her actions, and how to move past them.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 5**

* * *

 

Despite having lost her in the crowd, it really wasn't that hard for Gengar to track down Elizabeth. After all, she wasn't very subtle when she was in one of those moods. He eventually found her in an alley some distance from the arena where she had participated in that disastrous battle, and her mood had obviously deteriorated since then. Such a suspicion was only confirmed when Gengar made his entrance.  
  
Elizabeth had her back to him, so he kicked one of the overturned and badly dented trashcans that were strewn about the alley. She reacted instantly, grabbing a nearby lid off of an overturned trashcan and hurling it towards the noise. Gengar lunged to the right, the lid bouncing off the wall with a loud clang a second later, followed swiftly by a grunt of exertion and the sound of breaking ceramics. He looked up to see Elizabeth's face mere inches from his own. Her makeup was completely gone, and she had torn the bandage off her face at some point, so the blood dripped down her face unhindered to mingle with the tears pouring from her eyes.  
  
Seeing that, apart from the occasional sobs that wracked her body, she wasn't moving, Gengar hesitantly took a few steps to his right, then quickly sped up when he felt something brush his ear. Once he felt that he was a safe distance away, Gengar turned to see what he had felt, and his eyes widened. Elizabeth was hunched over slightly, and was holding a half-broken pipe in a left-handed grip. While such a strike wouldn't have done anything more than inconvenience Gengar, since he lacked a corporeal body, he could tell that Elizabeth had put enough force behind it to cause serious harm.  
  
_“I might not like her,”_ he muttered pensively, _“but this whole situation's a powder keg, and I'd rather it not end as badly as that time I thought it'd be fun to mess around with that bust of Xerneas.”_ Lost in thought as he was, Gengar almost missed Elizabeth turning to face him.  
  
“I-I’m n-ot re-ally s-su-re w-whe-th-er I'm-m s-sup-pos-ed t-to be hap-py o-or a-ang-ry th-th-at you c-came b-ack,” she choked out between sobs, “B-but I am r-real-ly g-gl-ad that you w-were the f-fir-st one to fi-nd m-me.”  
  
Gengar blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected this to happen.  
  
“Y-yo-u're wo-wond-ering why-y?” She continued, “I-if so-meo-ne e-else h-had c-ome a-alo-ng, w-well, I c-can j-jus-t im-imagi-ne t-the he-adli-nes n-now: _‘R-rich Poke-mon Coll-ec-tor as-sau-lts b-bystan-der af-ter humiliati-ng defe-at.’_ I b-et the l-little ro-se an-d her t-ag along wou-ld get a kick out of that.”  
  
She laughed bitterly, then collapsed against the wall. “They'd probably feel vindicated, as well. _‘Oh, look! Elizabeth Colette is nothing but a spoiled little brat who stoops to theft, threats, and violence the second things don't go her way! Just like I always told you, Saito!’_ They probably aren't even wrong. And look at me now! Crying in an alleyway after attacking you!"  
  
Elizabeth turned her head towards her feet, away from a very confused Gengar, “You can go. Just leave me here, I'll make my way home by myself, then I'll probably just set my collection free. It's not like I've lost everyone and everything else.” Memories immediately came up in Elizabeth’s depressed mind, but she quickly repressed them with a shudder.  
  
Gengar was stunned and didn't move at first, but Elizabeth's next words, a scream for him to leave her alone, galvanized him into action: a leisurely walk out of the alley. While he started slow, he gradually sped up as the implications of what he had just been told spurred him onwards. He was free! Free to run! Free to jump! Free to prank whomever he wanted to! Why, he'd never have to listen to—  
  
_“Hey! Hey, mister!”_ Gengar screeched to a halt as a small black and red fox jumped in his path. A quick look told him it was a Zorua, a young female specimen by the size and voice. Before he could move forward again, the Zorua moved back in front of him, trying to prevent him from leaving.  
  
_“Yeah, mister! You can't go!”_ the Zorua yipped.  
  
_“Eh? Why?”_ Gengar grunted back.  
  
_“Well, she's talking like a noose-guy. You can't leave her alone!”_  
  
Gengar picked up the tricky fox by the scruff of her neck, _“And just who is the noose guy?”_  
  
_“Well, you know the story about this alley. Don't ya, mister?”_  
  
_“Assume I don't.”  
  
“Well,”_ Zorua yipped, _“A long time ago, a man confessed to his girlfriend here, but even though he poured out his heart and soul, she rejected him out of hand. He had already sacrificed almost everything else for her, so he strung himself up from that fire escape over there, believing that he had nothing else to live for. Ever since then, anyone who comes down here, bawling their eyes out and bearing their heart and soul to the world, well, the next day they tie a rope around their neck and jump off the highest point that they can find. And what do you think Elizabeth is going to do after she sets her collection free?”  
  
_Gengar suddenly dropped the Zorua with a yelp and started counting off on his hand. “ _Leg’s see, eat a tub of ice cream, go out and buy a new pair of shoes, watch crappy soap operas on the TV, take that Eevee of hers to the groomers, marinate in the bathtub for a few hours-“  
  
“I'm serious!_” Zorua yelled out in frustration. _“Cross my heart and hope to– Err, poor choice of words.”_  
  
Gengar raised an invisible eyebrow and gave an all too wide smile at the now fidgeting fox.

_“Hey, kid. Why did you tell me that?”  
  
“Well, living where I do, I hear confessions like hers two or three times a week on average,”_ she replied, _“And, listening to her, for the very first time, I actually felt like I gave a damn about someone who decided to use my home as a place to vent their frustrations or pour out their woes where they think there's nobody to hear, and, well, she reminds me of myself in some ways.”_ Gengar narrowed his eyes at the Zorua. Something about the way she said it didn't seem right.  
  
" _You know, I've lived in this city for a very long time,_ " Gengar began, facing the Zorua, " _and I've never even heard of this alleyway being a noose-spot. Would have thought someone would hang a sign up if it happens that often."_  
  
" _Oh, well...you know. It's really only known around here and it doesn’t happen too often…_ " Zorua looked away, causing Gengar to start chuckling.  
  
“ _You need to work on your lying, kid, but I give you a solid A for effort on it,_ ” he declared, causing the Zorua to look aghast and bring her paw up to her chest.  
  
" _Who, me? Why would I lie to you?"_ Zorua defended herself while Gengar simply crossed his arms.  
  
" _Well if I had to guess, you need me to help you in some way, probably to talk to her directly, and since you do not want to reveal why you want to help her, you created a horror story in an attempt to garner sympathy from me so I would help without question._ " Gengar nodded as the Zorua started kicking at the dirt. " _You're going need to bring your A material if you want to get the leg up on me,"_ Gengar brought his hand up to his chin in thought. _"Still, it sounds like a fun way to give her my own send-off... Alright, I'll help!"_   
  
_“Great!”_ Zorua happily yipped, causing Gengar to smile. The two made their way back to Elizabeth, who hadn't moved an inch since they'd left, though she seemed to have stopped crying. Hearing the two approach, Elizabeth lifted her head, but dropped it again when she saw who it was.   
  
“I thought I told you to leave me alone,” she mumbled through her knees. Gengar looked her, and began to think on how to talk to her. A thought quickly came to mind, and with a snap of his fingers stared at Elizabeth intensely. Before she could yell at him to leave, a swirl of psychic energy came out from his mind and entered into her mind, putting her to a deep sleep. Gengar then turned to look at the expectant Zorua, a third eye now emblazoned on his forehead, and she too fell asleep.

“ _Time to get to work_ ,” Gengar rubbed his hands together before his mind entered the shared dream both of them shared.

* * *

 

“I did that?” Saito numbly asked, sitting on the couch. Once Louise informed him of just what exactly had transpired, his jubilant mood from before evaporated instantly. When Louise solemnly nodded, he could only look down in shame. “I didn’t mean too…”

“We know,” Sycamore replied, giving Saito a hot cup of hot cocoa, along with another for Louise. “By all accounts, you were justifiably angry at being used like that, but the fact remains Saito that you could have seriously injured her. You’re lucky that you didn’t, and what’s done is done.”

“She promised not to press charges if I battled her,” Louise pointed out, “and I at least trust her not to do that. Especially after how the battle went.” A ghost of a smile entered both of the teenagers faces, only for it to go away as the seriousness of the situation came back in.

“Still, I feel like I should do something. Go find her and apologize at least,” Saito pointed out, guilt filling his voice.

“That’s all well and good,” Sycamore began, “But from what I know of her, Elizabeth is not in an agreeable state of mind right now, and going after her in an attempt to apologize would makes things worse. My suggestion is to let things die down a bit, then go apologize once you return to Lumiose.”

“I…okay,” Saito relented and sighed. Seeing this, Sycamore rubbed the back of his head and searched for a way to change the subject to a more pleasant one.

“So…,” he began, drawing the two teenager’s attentions, “what are you two’s next steps?”

“Um, what do you mean?” Louise asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean, where are you two going next? You are still planning on doing the Gym Challenge, right?” Sycamore clarified.

“Oh, that’s what you…,” Louise stopped and hummed to herself. “I think… I think I’m going to Cyllage City. Supposedly, it’s easier to get there than the other cities.”

“And, judging by the map,” Saito pointed out with his Pokédex extended, “you can then circle around to the Shalour, Coumarine, and finally the Lumiose Gyms all in one trip.”

“Well, that settles it. I’m going to Cyllage City,” Louise nodded while Saito remained silent.

“What about you, Saito? Where are you planning on going next?” Sycamore asked, causing the boy to look up at him.

“Well I…,” Saito thought for a moment, looking between Sycamore and Louise. After a few moments, Louise rolled her eyes.

“Oh for,” she began. “Just come with me.”

“What?”

“Just travel with me,” Louise repeated herself. Saito looked at her in surprise, while Sycamore merely smiled. “You said it yourself. Going to Cyllage makes a lot of sense, and as I’m already going there and we’ve been travelling together already. Despite how things started out, things have been…nice.” Saito simply stared at Louise’s confession, who looked away in embarrassment.

“Oh, um… Thank you. I…appreciate the offer,” Saito rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, you should,” Louise got out, her eyes closed and head turned to the side. “To travel with a noble such as myself is a huge honor, and I don’t just give it out to anyone.” Saito laughed and shook his head at Louise’s antics.

“Thank you, really,” Saito smiled. “I’d be happy to.” Louise smiled brightly at Saito’s answer, causing Sycamore to smile as well..

“Well, now that you two got a plan, I think it’s time for all of us to get some shut eye,” Sycamore yawned and stretched his arms. “Saito, I’ll show you to your room. This way, please.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Saito got up and yawned as well, the tiredness coming in full force. As the two men left, Louise got up and went to her room as well. She had a big day ahead of her, after all, but more sleep wouldn’t hurt.

* * *

“Oogh,” Elizabeth groaned as she laid sprawled on the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw herself surrounded by a black and purple void. She bolted to her feet in fright, her hands instinctively tightening around hilts that weren’t there. “Where am I!?”

“In your mind,” a shadowy voice rang out over the void, startling her. Her arms nearly shot up to shield her face, but she suppressed that instinct, fearing that she’d see them wrapped in those violet tassels once more. “Have to admit, not quite what I was expecting. Thought it be a bit more…flashy, to be honest, although it’s about as empty as I thought.”

“Who’s there!? Show yourself!” Elizabeth demanded as she got back to her feet. A dark laugh soon followed as a shadow began to coalesce into a amorphous form. Soon enough, a Gengar showed itself, a dark smile emblazoned on its face.

“Surprised?” Gengar asked with a confident smirk. Elizabeth started to hyperventilate, initially seeing Gengar as something else. Picking up on that, Gengar stepped back, his hands upraised. “Relax, it’s just me.” Slowly, Elizabeth forced herself to calm down, and began to take stock of what was occurring.  
  
“…So,” Elizabeth looked back at Gengar, now recognizing it for what it was, “you can talk.”  
  
“No, not really. I put you under hypnosis so that I can psychically communicate with you. Easier this way, and here I can do whatever I want. Such as impressions.”  
  
“You can do impressions?” Elizabeth quickly asked, unable to stop herself in time causing Gengar to sigh and slap his face.  
  
“Look, I would love to play twenty questions with you, but I don’t actually want to. Suffice to say that I can,” he said in her Butler, Pierre's, voice, before switching back to the one he had been using. “But I came back to tell you this: This pity party of yours? Stop it, its beneath you.”  
  
“…You're just saying that," she brushed him off dejectedly. "This could all just be an elaborate prank.”  
  
“Eh, mostly, but tell me. What made you choose your team today?”  
  
“What do you mean?" she looked up, confused. "I just picked the strongest ones most likely to crush whatever team Louise managed to put together.”  
  
“Yeah. Sharpedo, Machamp, Eevee, Aggron, Florges, and myself. One of these things is not like the other. Well, other than talking a fish to a land battle. Genius move, by the way. Truly inspired choice.” Gengar began to slowly clap and gave her a taunting smile.  
  
Elizabeth huffed at the smiling Gengar and bit her tongue. “If you think that there's some deeper meaning behind my choices, then tell me.”  
  
“Thought you'd see it my way,” Gengar smirked at how the conversation was finally on track. “Anyways, Eevee was the first Pokémon you got, so even if she's acting a little weird, she's the type to run away if she truly hated you, so you've got that going for you. As for Sharpedo, remember, you and Eevee saved him when he was just a Carvanha. And Machamp? He probably would have fought if his opponent wasn't a Fennekin, and even then he respected you enough to lose without making you look incompetent, assuming that you were training him for a PWE match.” Gengar listed off confidently, “Need I continue?”  
  
“You don't,” Elizabeth sighed, “And yet I have done everything for them and they still won’t listen to me.”  
  
“And yet she wants to talk with you,” with a snap of his fingers, another form coalesced, this time into a red and black fox. Elizabeth recognized this Pokémon immediately.

“A Zorua? What’s a Zorua doing here?” She asked as the black and red Pokémon nuzzled at verdette's hand.  
  
“Honestly, I don’t really know. She just wouldn’t let me leave you there and- What are you doing?” While Gengar was talking, Zorua had walked a distance away from her, and, with a flash of light, transformed into Louise.  
  
“What!” Elizabeth shouted, “How do you know her?” Zorua responded with a few yips, and it certainly was strange to hear such a sound coming from the Little Rose's lips.

“Wait, why can’t I understand her?” she turned her head to look at Gengar, who merely shrugged.

“Miracle Eye can only do so much.” Elizabeth contemplated Gengars words before nodding in understanding. As ‘Louise’ yipped again, the girl looked back up at Gengar.  
  
“What did she say?”  
  
“She said that she met Louise when she fell out of a ‘bright place’ into her alley. She screamed something about a goat, then got freaked out when Zorua jumped out of a can. Wait, what do you mean by a bright hole?" Gengar stared at the Zorua with a questioning gaze, who merely shrugged. The two looked at Elizabeth, who looked just as confused as they were.  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine," Elizabeth answered, causing Gengar to shrug. Zorua then yipped a few more times, catching his attention.  
  
“Wait, really?” He asked in a great deal of shock.  
  
“What did she say?” Elizabeth got to her feet, brushing off some dust.  
  
“She said that she'd be up for traveling with you,” Gengar answered after a moment, a great deal of confusion still seeping in.  
  
“What?!” Elizabeth shouted while Gengar cupped the area where his chin would be and hummed.  
  
“Actually,” Gengar began to point out, “It's not an awful idea. Louise and her boyfriend are probably going to ship out in a few days, and I'm sure you still want a proper rematch.”  
  
“Well, yeah,” Elizabeth stated as if it was obvious.  
  
“You're probably not going to get it just hanging around Lumiose. At this point, your best bet is to get some supplies together and set off after them. Some of your Pokémon have to be interested in going on an adventure, even if it only lasts for a week. Who knows, you may even make a new one.” At Gengar's words, Elizabeth cupped her chin in thought for a few moments before she started giggling.  
  
“ _Keehee!_ That's a great idea!” Elizabeth exclaimed. "I'll go out, beat her, and show the world that no one makes a fool out of me!"  
  
“Well, it's nice to hear you so determined, Princess” Gengar chuckled. As Elizabeth continued to mutter half-baked plans, Gengar’s eyes glowed once again, and suddenly Elizabeth and Zorua found themselves alone in the alleyway, Gengar nowhere to be seen.

“He actually left,” Elizabeth sounded dejected, causing Zorua to walk up to her and nuzzle her hand for real this time.  
  
“Thanks,” Elizabeth replied, “Now, could you grab the roll of bandages in my bag?” Zorua did as she was asked, and Elizabeth applied the bandages with the ease and swiftness of someone who'd done it a thousand times. Picking up her bag from where it lay on the ground, Elizabeth walked towards the street.  
  
“I have to go back to the mansion to get some stuff together and make some plans, but in two weeks we’re off on an adventure!” She shouted for all the world to hear. As she began walking, Zorua briefly looked back at the alley, giddy at the prospect of finally leaving this place. They didn’t get very far though, as Elizabeth suddenly stopped. Zorua looked and looked up at Elizabeth, only to see her crying. The fox yipped in concern, only for Elizabeth to brush it off.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just…” Elizabeth went silent for a moment, “happy.” The verdette began walking again, a newfound goal to strive for. One of victory over Louise, no matter what it took.

[~][~]


	21. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito embark down the Versant Road, hoping to reach Cyllage City for their next Gym Badge, only to get sidetracked at a skate park.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 1**

* * *

 

“Thanks once again for letting me stay, Professor,” Saito smiled towards Sycamore outside of the Versant Gate. It was early in the morning, though thankfully not at the crack of dawn like Louise had been making them do lately. He figured she must have learned the value of good sleep.

“It’s not problem, Saito,” Sycamore nodded. “You are always welcome here. Now, do you two know exactly what your plan is?”

“Of course,” Louise began, her backpack filled to the brim, only in a more manageable state. “It should take about a week to travel down Versant Road and reach Camphrier Town, assuming there are no delays. Saito and I discussed it—”

“You insisted, and I eventually relented,” Saito butted in, only to be silenced by a glare.

“As I was saying, before we head out for Cyllage, we are going to stop by Parfum Palace.”

“Curious as to how nobility here compares to back home?” Sycamore smiled, causing Louise to smile back and nodded. Saito, on the other hand, remained silent and deep in denial.

“Come on, Louise. We best get going,” Saito insisted while adjusting his backpack. “Once noon hits, we aren’t going to make much progress.” Louise moved to protest but, realizing he was right, sighed and nodded.

“Take care, you two,” Sycamore bid them farewell. Louise turned away and walked a few steps, only to pause, turn around, and quickly give the professor a quick hug before quickly walking back. Sycamore smiled to himself before waving them off. The two teenagers waved back before walking away. As they disappeared, Sycamore put his hands in his coat pockets and walked back into Lumiose. He still had work to do.

* * *

 

“Still messing with that new Pokédex?” Saito asked as he and Louise sat beneath a tree. He was right, once the noon sun rose above them their progress slowed to a standstill. Weighed down by the heat and sweat, they had no choice but to take a water break underneath a large tree. Wiping away a sheen of sweat, Saito took a gulp of water before going back to making their lunch.

“Yes,” Louise nodded, her eyes never leaving her new Pokédex. Unlike the last one, this model was much smaller. Rectangular and solid, it was encased in a thick body of pink plastic, with two buttons on the right side and a d-pad on the other. The top corners of the device held additional buttons as well.

“I can see that,” Saito chuckled as he finished up the sandwiches. Holding one out to Louise, she set the Pokédex down and began eating, following his lead. “So, I’m curious. What exactly is so different about that Pokédex than the one before?”

“Besides being easier to handle?” Louise asked. Taking Saito’s smile as an answer, Louise continued. “Mostly just minor improvements, really. Smaller, more compact. Runs faster, too. But, now I got an actual phone and a training guide.”

“Guide? What does that mean?”

“It means that the Pokédex can tell me what my Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses are and what moves they can learn. That way, I can better plan out their training regime. Granted, it’s more of a species wide guide, but still.”

“Ah, I see,” Saito nodded and finished up his sandwich. “I don’t think mine has that option.”

“Professor Sycamore said it was a new feature and that mine is a prototype he’d been working on.”

“So that’s why he didn’t offer me one?” Saito gazed upwards in realization. Louise looked at him in confusion, but he waved her off. “Nah, I’m not mad. Besides, I’m fine with the one I have now.” Saito stood up and dusted himself off. “Now, want to put that training guide to use?”

“Heh, read my mind,” Louise smiled and stood up as well. “Train for an hour or two then head on out?”

* * *

 

In the hour that followed, Louise and Saito both gained a new appreciation for the Pokedex’s training guide. What before would have taken them three hours to do was now cut down significantly. Turns out being able to more easily spot a Pokémon’s natural strengths and weaknesses was a real blessing. Coupled with their natural tendency to spot flaws in their Pokémon’s performance, suffice to say that the two were please with their training session.

All the Pokémon were getting some work done. Aile continued to practice her dodging at high speeds while Brennaraki practiced her aim on fast moving targets. The grace she showed was as impeccable as ever but dodging and turning were still difficult for the Fletchling while Brennaraki had trouble aiming ahead, tending to aim where the bird was. Espirit, meanwhile, practiced by psychically lifting rocks and stacking them on top of each other in midair, not to mention using Heal Pulse on any injuries. The Ralts seemed to take a shine to that aspect, something that Louise noticed and decided to focus on.

Saito’s Pokémon stayed within their group. Tanuki and Ronin originally spared together while Maindo remained on his lonesome. That changed with Saito tried to get him to train with the others, to which he responded by hurling a rock towards the other two Pokémon. They responded by throwing themselves at the laughing Ralts, turning the spar into a two on one brawl. To his credit, Maindo performed extremely well and seeing he was finally interacting with the others, Saito allowed it.

‘ _Wish he would get along with the others, though,_ ’ he sighed as he watched over the battle, taking in Maindo’s fighting style as he and the other Pokémon fought. He seemed to be almost like a guerilla fighter. Rather than go for big, fancy moves like Tanuki or precise blade and water attacks like Ronin, Maindo seemed to be of the mind to harass his opponents repeatedly. Any time they got close to him, it usually turned out to be an illusion and he would insult them, which in term made them mad and attack him again. He’d then use their enraged and unfocused state to hit them with a few attacks, usually by hurling them into one another, only to teleport away once they got close. To be honest, it was rather brilliant, but every so often he’d get too caught up in the insults and get hit as a result, and although he could hit hard, his ability to take a hit was not so high.

After Ronin managed to finally hit Maindo with an Air Slash, Saito decided to call it. “Alright, that’s enough,” he announced. The three Pokémon all looked at him then each other before complying, but not without a grumble. “Ronin, Tanuki, you two need to work on managing your emotions. You often let your anger get the better of you, which Maindo here exploited.”

The two Pokémon glared at the smug Ralts, but a cough from Saito redirected their attention.

“Maindo, you need to let up on the insults while in combat. Harassing your opponent to make them angry is fine, brilliant even, but when you focused too much on the insults you allowed Tanuki and Ronin to get some hits in.”

Maindo glared at Saito while Tanuki and Ronin smirked. With a huff, and before Saito could get another word in, Maindo teleported away, still within eyesight. Sighing, Saito beckoned his Pokémon to follow him to Espirit, who quickly healed them. Maindo, rather than join them, merely glared all by himself while nursing his wounds. When Espirit saw this, he turned his head away, causing her to frown. After a moment, she took a deep breath and walked over to him.

‘ _You’re hurt,_ ’ she calmly stated, not showing any emotion. Maindo, rather than turn to face her, kept his back to her. Shaking her head, Espirit walked up to him and placed her hand on his back. He flinched at the contact, only to die down as a soothing glow enveloped him. After a few moments, the glow died down and Espirit stepped back.

‘ _You’re welcome_.’ With that, Espirit turned around and walked back to the others, leaving Maindo alone once again.

‘ _…Hmph_ ,’ Maindo grunted and stood up. Dusting himself off, teleported onto a tree branch, careful to keep distant from the others, only for the branch snap and break underneath him. He landed with a thud, and as the other Pokémon laughed at him, he grumbled.

* * *

 

Their training session over, and with the air noticeably cooler than it was earlier, the two trainers set off once again. Having opted to walk around with only light amounts of Repel, they were accosted by a few wild Pokémon. Mostly Bunnelbys and Furfrous, although there was a Doduo that was apparently arguing with itself over something and a Gulpin who happily ate all the trash the pair had on them, but overall this leg of the trip was uneventful.

“How much further do you think we can go?” Louise asked, adjusting her backpack. Her shoulders were starting to feel sore and her legs were starting to burn, not to mention the sun would be going down soon.

“Probably another two hours. Otherwise we’d be walking at night, and I don’t think either of us want that,” Saito pointed out, his body much less tired than Louise’s.

“Thank you.” They continued in comfortable silence, neither having anything to say, only to suddenly stop as they heard some rustling.

“You hear that?” Saito slowly reached for his belt, Louise doing the same.

“I did.” When the rustling was heard again, the two turned towards the source. It turned out to be coming from a large flowerbed surrounding a bush, and as the two slowly crept towards the sound, the rustling intensified. The two trainers hastily pulled out a Pokéball, preparing themselves for battle, only for two creatures to emerge. They were both mouse like, their bodies covered in cream fur, possessing colored spots on their cheeks and large colored ears, topped off with a small tail. They would have looked identical, were it not for one key difference. One was red, the other blue. Recognizing this as a new species and seeing how it was currently smiling and waving at them happily, the two trainers clipped their Pokéballs and Louise pulled out her Pokédex.

“ _Plusle, the Cheering Pokémon. Native to the Hoenn region, Plusle’s emit sparks through its hands to create pom-poms they use to cheer on their friends. They are closely related to the Minun species._ ”

“ _Minun, the Cheering Pokémon. Caring more about its teammates than itself, a Minun’s electrical current can promote blood circulation. They are closely related to the Plusle species.”_  
  
As the Pokédex sounded off, Louise noticed a key icon on her screen.  
   
“These aren’t wild,” she declared, stopping Saito from pulling a Pokéball out. As he leaned over to look at her Pokédex, she pointed to a Pokéball icon over the image. “Sycamore explained to me last night that this icon meant that the scanned Pokémon was currently owned. We can’t catch them.”  
   
“Ah, man,” Saito sighed. Getting over his disappointment quickly, Saito began looking around in search of their trainers. Not seeing them, he knelt to the two mice. “You two lost?”  
   
The two Pokémon squeaked and shook their heads. “Where are they?” Louise knelt as well, concerned for their well-being. The Plusle and Minun giggled and pointed behind them. “They’re over there?” They nodded her question and began to walk away. For a moment, Louise stayed there, contemplating her next action.  
   
“… We’re going with them, aren’t we?”  
   
“Obviously,” Louise stood up and started after them. With an exasperates sigh, Saito followed. One of these days he’d get used to this.  
   
The two trainers followed the Plusle and Minun into a nearby grove, one much less dense than Santalune. Not a single Pokémon attacked them, nor did they hear any. Idly, the two wondered as to why this was the case, only for them to start hearing the answer.  
   
“What is that?” Louise wondered aloud as the noise got louder. Exiting the grove, she was greeted by a strange sight. Rather than more grass, flowers, or trees, like she had been expecting, they were instead greeted by concrete open-air enclosure, surrounded by a wire fence. Inside the enclosure were several ramps and metal bars. The strangest sight, however, were the people racing along those ramps and bars on bicycles and other…things she wasn’t quite sure of.  
   
“Oh wow, a skate park!” Saito gushed, inadvertently answering Louise’s next question. “Didn’t know Versant Road had one!”  
   
“Only been open for a few months” a feminine voice replied. Turning their attention over, Louise and Saito saw two teenagers around their age, one male and the other female. Twins by the look of it, with both having identical blond hair and blue eyes. The girl was taller than the boy, and the two were both wearing yellow and black sports attire along with similarly colored helmets and pads.  
   
“Oh, who might you—” Saito was cut off as the Plusle and Minun rushed passed him and leapt onto the athletes’ legs, clutching them tightly. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that they’re yours.”  
   
“They are,” the boy nodded and kneeled. “Minun, you need to stop wandering off like that.”  
   
“The same goes for you, Plusle,” the girl chastised lightly before smiling. “Thank you both for finding them. They like to wander off, sometimes.”  
   
“No problem at all,” Louise nodded. “They seem like very kind Pokémon.”  
   
“They do like people,” the girl chuckled. “Well, I’m Toni, this is my brother Hawk,” the boy lightly waved and smiled. “We’re regulars around here.”  
   
“I’m Saito, this is Louise,” the two smiled.  
   
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Louise nodded, polite as ever.  
   
“Same to you. Never seen you two around here before. First timers?”  
   
“Just passing through on our way to Camphrier Town,” Louise shook her head and Saito nodded.  
   
“I see,” Hawk cupped his chin and nodded. “You two gonna stick around for a bit? This is a public skate park, and we’re always happy to see new faces.” Saito broke out into an excited smile, only to be shot down by Louise’ slow shaking of her head.  
   
“Unfortunately, we can’t. We have to get to Camphrier Town.” Before Louise could continue, Saito frantically waved, drawing her irritated attention.  
   
“Not right away,” he protested. At this, Louise pulled him away from the twins, hoping to get some semblance for privacy.  
   
“What are you doing?” she demanded to know.  
   
“Louise, come on,” he sighed and shook his head. “There’s no real rush, and we’re allowed to have some fun every now and then.”  
   
“I don’t…” Louise started, but upon seeing his begging expression, looked down and sighed. “Okay, fine. We’ll stay. But we’re heading out first thing in the morning, got it?”  
   
“That works for me,” he happily nodded. As he began walking over to the skate park, he stopped once he noticed that Louise was standing in place, fidgeting to herself. After a moment of confusion, he smirked as he realized the cause of her predicament. “It’s okay to be nervous.”  
   
“I’m not nervous!” Louise suddenly shouted, blushing from embarrassment while Saito merely smirked. This only served to make her angrier, much to Saito’s amusement. With a huff, she turned her head and walked past him towards the rental area, leaving him and the slightly confused twins behind.  
   
“…Is she always…?” Toni began, only to be waved off by Saito.  
   
“Yeah, but she starts to grow on you over time.”

* * *

 

Admittedly, it had been a few years since Saito had rollerbladed in any shape or form. Even then, he mostly stuck to the basics, preferring to just cruise around with a few minor tricks here and there. Still, knowing his limits, he had strapped on a pair of blue roller skates, pads and helmet, figuring it would easier than jumping onto a skateboard. After a few wipeouts, mostly in the first half hour, he was finally able to get a handle on things and was now confidently cruising like he did when he was younger. Wanting to let his Pokémon in on the fun, he had let them out earlier as well. Tanuki was again proving his skill, using Aura manipulation to reduce friction on his heels and skate around like a figure skater participating in the X-Games. Ronin, meanwhile, used his scalchop as a makeshift skateboard, mostly doing grinds and kickflips. Maindo, however, was sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else, occasionally calling out ‘encouragement’ to passersby while drinking a can of lemonade he somehow managed to find, causing Saito to sigh.

“What am I going to do with you,” he silently mused before deciding to try and find Louise. “Wonder how she’s doing?”

“Stupid things!” she shouted, answering his question. Silently chuckling, Saito turned to look at Louise, currently grasping hold of nearby wall to stay upright, only barely succeeding. Like him, she was decked out in pink roller skates, pads and helmet, but unlike him, she hadn’t yet fully grasped exactly how to stay upright.

“Need some help over there?” Saito asked, rolling over to her.

“No!” she angrily shouted, frustration filling her. “I got this…” Defiantly, she let go of the wall and pushed herself forward, her arms out wide and body wobbling. After a few seconds of not falling over, she smugly smiled and put her hands on her hips.

“See?” she puffed out her chest, causing Saito to chuckle. With newfound confidence, she took a step forward, only for her foot to slip out from under her. “AHH!” she screamed and fell over, landing flat on her back. Groaning for but a moment, she turned red and began flailing in anger, causing Saito to laugh.

“This is your fault!” she accused, slowly pushing herself off the ground.

“How is this my fault?” Saito asked, more amused then anything.

“It just is!” Louise almost lost her balance, but Saito caught her before she could. “…thank you.”

“No problem,” Saito smiled. “My offer still stands.”

“I told you, I don’t need any help,” Louise pushed away from him and slowly made her way to the edge. “You keep going. I’m done.”

Saito frowned as she wobbled away. This was supposed to be fun for both of them. Deciding that something must be done, Saito skated over to Louise and took hold of her shoulders.

“What are you doing!?” she shouted in surprise.

“Helping you,” he answered. “Relax. This is easy once you get used to it. Please, let me help.”

“…fine,” she huffed.

“Thank you. Now the trick is to slide your feet and shift your body as you move…”

* * *

 

“I’m doing it! Saito, I’m doing it!” Louise shouted with glee as she slowly glided across the ground. Saito, sitting down on a bench, smiled at her, happy she was finally having fun.

“See, I told you. It’s easy.” He gulped down some water and continued to watch her. In the end, it didn’t take that long to teach her the basics, just another half hour. She still fell down every now and then, much more than he did at least, but at least she was finally having fun.

“Hey, she finally got it,” Toni stated as she and her brother sat down next to Saito. “Always good to see people skating for the first time.”

“Yeah,” Saito smiled looking at the now descending sun. His smile turned into a frown as he realized they had lost track of time. “Drat, sun’s going down. Louise, we got to go!”

“Oh, come on! I just got a hang of this!”

“You want to set up camp by moonlight?” Louise went silent at Saito’s question before grumbling and skating over to him. Taking off her roller blades, pads, and helmet, she put back on her boots and walked away to return the equipment.

“Aw, you two leaving already?” Hawk asked, sounding slightly disappoint.

“Yeah, it’s getting late and the sooner we set up camp, the better.” Saito nodded and stood up as Louise walked back. “Well, it was nice meeting you two, but we got to get going.” The two trainers nodded and began making their way out of the skate park, only for the two skater twins to stand up with them.

“Hey, before you guys go,” Toni began, “you two are trainers, right?”

“Yes, actually,” Louise answered and nodded. “We’re actually on our way to Cyllage to challenge the Gym there.”

“Oh, cool!” Hawk exclaimed, bringing his fists up to his chest. “Well, sis and I were talking about it, and have you two ever had a Tag Battle?”

“Tag Battle?” Louise wondered what that meant.

“It’s when two trainers battle on the same team with one Pokémon each,” Saito answered, understanding where this was going.

Toni smiled. “You guys up for one?”

Saito and Louise looked at each other, trying to read the other’s thoughts. The Sun was going down, but they had at least another hour before dusk hit. Plus, this was a new experience for them both, one they were eager to try. The two silently nodded in mutual understanding and turned their heads back to the twins.

“We’d be happy to,” Louise declared.

* * *

 

As it turned out, the skate park housed a battling arena as well, like the one surrounding Professor Sycamore’s lab, albeit one with more of a sports theme to it.

“This will be a two on two match, elimination by knockout,” Hawk yelled out from across the arena. An audience had already formed on the spectator stands, eager to see a battle and excitedly murmuring to themselves. “Have you two decided on your Pokémon?”

“We have,” Louise took out a Luxury Ball, as did Saito. “Release at the same time?”

“Of course,” Toni smiled as she and Hawk pulled Pokéballs of their own. The two groups stared silently at each other, sizing them up and attempting to ascertain their intentions. Then, as if some invisible signal was sent, they all sprang into action.

“Plusle! Minun!” the skater twins shouted out, releasing the Cheering Pokémon onto the arena.

“Espirit! Maindo” Louise and Saito shouted as well, releasing the two Ralts. Espirit was excited, eager to prove herself, while Maindo looked as disinterested as ever.

For Louise, it wasn’t hard to chose Espirit. She had her for quite some time now, and after considerable training, both felt that the time was right for a trial run. Maindo, on the other hand, was harder for Saito to justify. He hadn’t made any progress at all in getting him to listen, and Louise had threatened to replace Espirit with another Pokémon if he was chosen, but in the end they both decided that this might be an opportunity to get Maindo to finally listen.

“Please listen, for once,” Saito quietly begged, but when Maindo rolled his eyes he sighed. Shaking his head, he readied himself for battle. “Alright then. Maindo, use Shadow Sneak!”

“Espirit, Misty Terrain!” Both trainers shouted their commands. Espirit concentrated until a pink glow surrounded her. The glow spread out and enveloped the arena in a pink, soothing mist. At the same time, Maindo’s shadow began to move by itself, only to slightly jump up five feet away, no closer to his opponents.

_‘Dammit, Maindo! Take this seriously!_ ’ Saito grit his teeth at the disobedient display while Louise and Espirit frowned. The twins, seeing an opening, jumped at the chance.

“Minun, use Thunder Wave on Maindo!”

“Plusle, Electro Ball on Espirit!”

Sparks began to emit from Plusle and Minun’s electrical sacs, but while Minun’s immediately discharged and arced towards Maindo, still standing still, Plusle’s electrical energy swirled around his tail. Spinning around, the electricity coalesced into a sphere, one that hurtled towards Espirit.

Reacting immediately, Espirit jumped out of the way, only feeling a few tingles from isolated shocks. Maindo, however, remained unmoved. Rather than actively participate, he was instead checking his nails, or at least acting like he was.

“Maindo, move!” Saito shouted, which his Ralts ignored. As the electricity neared Maindo, however, it suddenly dissipated, leaving Maindo untouched.

“Wha?” Hawk looked confused while Maindo looked smug.

“Misty Terrain prevents status conditions from working,” Louise pointed out. “Espirit, use Confusion!”

Taking the chance, Espirit concentrated on the still confused Minun, who suddenly recoiled and clutched his head from the psychic attack. Gritting his teeth, Minun shot out several glowing stars form her mouth towards Espirit. Attempting to dodge the attacks, Espirit bobbed and weaved past them, only for the dodged attacks to circle around and strike her anyway. With a pained grunt, she pushed herself off the ground and unleashed a Disarming Voice. The cuteness of her cry momentarily stunned the two as they flinched in pain.

“Maindo, help her out with Shadow Ball!” Saito ordered. With an audible sigh, Maindo created a small black orb, pulsating with sparks. It only got to the size of a golf ball before he flicked it out towards the dumbfounded mice who merely stepped aside and watched as the orb harmlessly passed by them and hit the ground. A small amount of dust poofed up, but otherwise nothing happened.

“Grrgh,” Saito growled while Maindo laughed. Toni and Hawk looked at each other and smirked.

“Looks like he’s not going to be a problem. Guys, focus on Espirit!” Louise’s, Saito’s, and Espirit’s eyes all widened at the proclamation while Plusle and Minun smirked menacingly.

“Plusle, Charge Beam!”

“Minun, Helping Hand!”

Taking Plusle’s hand, Minun began to spark as electrical energy flowed into Plusle. At the same time, Plusle sparked as well, the added electricity from Minun boosting hers. Sparks shot out wildly, scorching small amounts of the arena where they contacted, until finally Plusle concentrated the sparks into a single small orb. The orb then exploded into a thin line of electrical energy as it shot out towards Espirit, who was beginning to panic and was frozen in fear.

“Double Team!” Louise suddenly shouted out, breaking Espirit from her panic. She quickly split apart, forming several copies of herself. The Charge Beam speared one of the copies, dissipating it into a cloud of smoke. It impacted the arena wall, causing a nearby light to short out and explode from the electrical discharge.

“Is that going to be…?” Louise numbly pointed a shaking finger at the dead light, concerned for both her opponents and the powerful attack potentially hitting Espirit.

“Nah, happens all the time here,” Toni waved her arms, not worried in the slightest. “Anyway… Plusle, keep going!”

At Toni’s command, more Charge Beams shot out, each as powerful as the first. Creating more doppelgangers, Espirit spammed Double Team to avoid the blasts.

‘ _You got to fight back sometime, you know,_ ’ Maindo helpfully pointed out as he idly watched the battle, not doing a thing.

‘ _Good idea. How about you show you me how?_ ’ Espirit barked back as she continued to dodge. Minun at this point had let go of Plusle’s hand and was now actively participating as well. Using Quick Attack, he sped towards Espirit and struck her on the side, throwing her to the ground. Seeing another Electro Ball forming, this time from Minun, she attempted to roll out of the way of the oncoming sphere, for her to be hurled away from the ensuring explosion. Flying across the arena, she landed in a heap at Maindo’s feet, an amused expression on his face.

‘ _Nah, you got this. You have ‘em on the ropes!’_

_‘… This is why no one likes you._ ’ Espirit dryly retorted.

‘ _I’ll have you know that plenty of Pokémon like me,_ ’ Maindo replied with a wicked smile. When they heard another crackle of electricity, Espirit paled and turned her head around. Seeing how Plusle was now holding Minun’s hand, and with an extremely large Electro Ball forming on her tail, Espirit did the only thing she could think of. Splitting herself into multiple copies once again, the real her moved as far away from the attack as possible as it hurtled towards her former position at high speeds. Maindo barely had a moment to react before the ball struck him, sending him flying back into the arena wall hard enough to form a small crater. A dust cloud formed around him, obscuring him from view, as Saito and Louise looked on in worry.

“Maindo!” Saito screamed as he prepared to rush over to his Pokémon, only for the dust cloud to be violently pushed aside by a large Shadow Ball. It zoomed across the arena, striking a surprised Minun straight in the face and send her hurtling back. The combatants all looked towards Maindo, slowly marching forward, a dark aura enveloping him.

‘ _Okay,_ ’ he calmly stated, masking the fury he was feeling rather poorly. ‘ _Now I’m pissed._ ’ Before anyone could respond, Maindo teleported and reappeared at Plusle’s face. He barely squeaked out in surprise before Maindo struck him with a point-blank Shadow Ball. Attempting to defend her partner, Minun attacked with Swift, only for Maindo to psychically lift Plusle and use him as a shield, blocking most of the attacks. One still got through, and with a pained grunt, he threw Plusle onto Minun.

Getting to his feet, Plusle sent out a Charge Beam, only for Maindo to teleport a few feet away. His shadow quickly moved across the ground on its own before stopping at Plusle’s feet. A ghostly mass jumped out of it, delivering an uppercut and throwing Plusle upwards. At the top of his arc, Maindo grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. Minun attempted to get up as well, only to be struck by a Confusion launched by Espirit, who had finally decided to jump back into the fray.

‘ _Oh, look who finally decided to fight back_ ,’ Maindo taunted, teleporting out of the way of another Charge Beam. Raising his hands, pale blue balls of ghostly fire formed before he threw them at Plusle, striking him in the chest and leaving a painful burn. He attempted to get up, but the burn, coupled with the earlier damage, prevented him from doing so, and he collapsed in a heap.

‘ _Hi, Weedle. Meet Caterpie!_ ’ Espirit barked back as she used a Heal Pulse on her teammate. Attempting to blindside her, Minun sped forward with Quick Attack, only to be halted as Maindo psychically held him in place. He began to bombard the Cheering Pokémon’s mind with Confusion, causing her to thrash in pain before Espirit finished her off with Disarming Voice.

‘ _Does it look like I care what you think?_ ’ Maindo unceremoniously dropped Minun to the ground and walked away. Espirit frowned before using Heal Pulse on Minun. She thanked her before Espirit moved on to Plusle, performing the same action with him.

“Drat,” Toni shook her head and sighed, disappointed in the outcome. “Congratulations, you two. Saito, man. That Ralts of yours is strong.”

“He is, wish he listened more, though.” Saito sighed. “Still, good job, Maindo.” Maindo merely huffed in annoyance before plopping down, directing a vaguely rude gesture with his hands at him at the same time. Saito lightly frowned at his Pokémon’s behavior, but otherwise did nothing. Louise, on the other hand, was having much greater luck with her Pokémon.

“You did so good!” Louise congratulated a bashful Espirit while giving her a deep hug. An idea briefly popped into Saito’s head, but one surprisingly deep growl from Maindo squashed it.

“What am I going to do with you?” Saito sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

* * *

 

“It was nice meeting you two,” Hawk stated as he and Saito shook hands. They were outside of the skate park now, with all the attendants filing out and heading off in assorted directions.

“Likewise,” Saito nodded. “Will you two be doing the Gym challenge?”

“Nah, not our thing,” Toni waved them off. “Good luck to you two, though. We’re rooting for ya.”

“Thank you,” Louise smiled before turning away with a wave, Saito doing the same. As the two walked further and further away from the skate park, Toni and Hawk smiled to themselves and turned the other way, plopping down their skateboards, and began skating home.

“Always nice to see friends traveling together,” Toni cooed, and Hawk smiled.

[~][~]


	22. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an unfortunate run-in with an annoying Magikarp Salesman, Louise and Saito arrive in Camphrier Town, where they decide to take a detour to Shabboneau Castle. However, Louise can't shake the feeling that she is being watched...

**Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Crossover)**

**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 2**

* * *

 

It had been a few days since they had left the skate park, and much progress had been made. According to the PokéNav function on Louise’s Pokédex, they were about a day away from Camphrier Town. Good progress, all things considered. That wasn’t to say that there weren’t delays.

“For the last time, I don’t want a Magikarp,” Saito glared at the man in front of him. He was rather short and getting on in years, wearing a white shirt, white headband, and yellow straw hat. The only remarkable feature about him was his stubby mustache. All in all, it made him look like a sleazeball, which he was more than happy to prove with each passing moment.

‘ _I should never had agreed to hear this man’s sales pitch…,_ ’ Louise cursed herself for her naiveite. The two trainers had stumbled across the man along the road carrying a large wicker basket on his back. Out of concern, they offered to help, but instead he revealed he was a travelling salesman and was offering passersby the business of a lifetime. One that would make them both rich within the month. Saito of course saw through it immediately, but before he could refuse, Louise agreed to hear him out. He swore he could almost see Pokédollar signs in her eyes. Before he could stop it, they were already being subjugated to a rehearsed spiel on how buying a Magikarp, one of if not the most prolific Pokémon species on the planet, would make them both rich.

“Please reconsider,” he urged them, slime coating his every word. “Magikarps are a living gold mine! Each one can lay up to a thousand eggs in a single batch multiple times a year! You’d make back your investment in no time at all!”

“I have no interest in selling Magikarp,” Louise plainly stated, her arms crossed and foot tapping in growing impatience. She had lost it some time ago, to be honest, but at this point the salesman wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“You don’t have to sell the Magikarp. I can see that you two are trainers, likely taking on the Gym Challenge?” he fished an answer, but received no answer, not even a nod. Rather than take that as a cue to leave, he took it as an answer in and of itself and carried on with his pitch. “Something tells me that you two have an eye for powerful Pokémon, and Magikarps are among the strongest there are.”

“Only when they evolve into a Gyarados,” Saito poked a hole in the man’s pitch. “Until then, they are the weakest Pokémon in the world.”

“And besides,” Louise pointed out, “Magikarps need a body of water to do anything. Otherwise they just flop around helplessly. Do you honestly expect us to only stay next to a body of water?” The man said nothing, but Louise continued. “And even if we somehow managed to get the Magikarp to evolve, Gyaradoses are extremely aggressive and powerful. We wouldn’t be able to control it. So please, tell me. What other reasons do you have for us to buy a Magikarp, a Pokémon we could easily get for ourselves if we so desired?” Louise and Saito pointedly stared at the fidgeting man, not expecting a satisfactory answer. With a huff, he turned around and stomped off, grumbling about a missed opportunity, likely his own.

“What a slimeball,” Saito shook his head as the conman continued walking away. “… You know, I’m pretty sure that selling Pokémon without a license is illegal.”

“It is,” Louise nodded. Sycamore had been very clear about that. He even showed her what they looked like and how to ask to see them. It was one of the first things she asked to see, and what he showed her was not a legal permit.

“… You already called the police, didn’t you?”

“They were listening the whole time.”

* * *

 

“Hey, Saito?”

“Yes, Louise?”

“You ever get a…strange feeling in the back of your head? Like your being watched?”

“Hmm,” Saito hummed, “every so often. But usually its just my mind playing tricks on me. Why?”

“… No reason,” Louise glanced towards the forest one more time, never breaking her stride, that feeling never leaving.

Louise had felt something was off for the past few days now, even before they ran into the conman. Every so often, the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up and she’d get a chill running down her spine. She couldn’t quite explain it, but something told her that they, she in particular, was being watched. By who or what, she couldn’t figure that out. It frightened her a little, but what was most alarming was that as they got closer to Camphrier Town, the feeling got more and more intense. As if what once was a cursory glance was now staring intently at her.

“Louise, you look troubled,” Saito stopped and looked at her in concern. “Is something wrong? You can tell me.”

“I…,” Louise sighed. “For the past few days, I’ve… I’ve felt like we’re being watched. That _I’m_ being watched.” Saito hummed in contemplation and took a closer look at the surroundings.

“When did it start?” he asked, eye’s continuing to look for anything.

“A few days ago,” Louise revealed. Saito’s hand hovered over Tanuki’s Pokéball, contemplating whether to release him. “It’s been getting worse, though.”

“Have you seen anything unusual?” he inquired, straining his eyes in an attempt to spot anything out of the ordinary, but finding nothing.

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “I even had Espirit scan the area, but whatever it is, she couldn’t pick it up.”

“Well, if a psychic can’t find anything then it’s probably nothing. Still, I could send Tanuki out to make sure,” Saito said as he pulled out the Pokéball in question, only to be politely waved off.

“Thank you, but no. Honestly, your probably right. My mind is just playing tricks on me. I appreciate the offer, though,” Louise smiled, and he smiled back.

“No problem, Louise.” The two started walking again in comfortable silence, Louise’s nerves calmer now. The never noticed the small shape dart behind the trees, staring at Louise as she slowly disappeared through the trees.

* * *

 

The rest of the day went without incident, yet Louise never could quite shake the feeling she was being watched. At the very least, it finally seemed to be getting weaker. She guessed whatever it was finally lost interest and left. Now, as the sun began to set, and the two trainers finished setting up camp for the night, she decided to get some training in, as did Saito.

“Brennaraki, Aile, pincer on Tanuki!” Louise ordered. The two Pokémon sped towards their target, Aile disappearing in a Quick Attack and Brennaraki becoming a rolling ball of fire, coming in from opposite sides. The Riolu watched as the closed in, Aile coming in faster, but before she struck he ducked down, causing her to miss. She banked up, trying to avoid crashing into the ground, forcing Aile to jump away, never breaking her stride as she continued sprinting towards Tanuki. She struck, sending him back a bit but never off his feet. He grinned as he rushed towards her, palm glowing as he used Force Palm on her, sending her flying back. As she did, she was suddenly struck by a stream of water, courtesy of Ronin, sending her crashing into the ground. Water soaked deep into her fur, to the point where she was practically a mop, yet she quickly got up and shot out a Psywave at Ronin. He blocked it with his scalchop, only to be blindsided by Aile’s Quick Attack.

“Nice one,” Saito commented, already forming a counterattack. “Tanuki, Quick Attack! Ronin, Water Pulse!” Tanuki immediately sped away, zooming towards Aile and knocking her out of the sky, while a large orb of water formed in Ronin’s outstretched hands. He then threw it at Brennaraki, who jumped out of the way yet was still hit by the subsequent explosion of water. It stung, but nothing serious. Tanuki and Aile, on the other hand, were proving exactly why punching a bird was so difficult, as Aile twisted and turned away from all the punches and kicks Tanuki threw at her. She managed to get a few quick Pecks in, but they were more of an annoyance. As she sped for another attack, Tanuki grabbed her and, using her momentum against her, threw her away. Before she crashed into the ground, she recovered and immediately used Quick Attack on the canine.

“Counter!” Saito yelled, causing Tanuki to smirk and Aile’s eyes to widen. Unable to stop herself, she could only watch as a red glow enveloped him. As she struck, he winced in pain, but Aile was sent flying back with twice the energy. She crashed into the ground, knocked out cold, allowing Tanuki to take a sigh of relief. That did not last, as he was suddenly blindsided by a Psywave hitting the back of his head. He fell, unconscious, and Brennaraki quickly turned her attention back towards Ronin. Pulling out his scalchop, he used Air Slash to send slices of compressed air at her. She jumped of the way, only to be struck by another slice, Ronin having anticipated where she would jump. She fell to the ground and tried to push herself up, only to be struck by the scalchop directly, water racing off it as he used Razor Shell. This slammed her back onto the ground, and this time she didn’t get back up.

“Drat,” Louise grumbled as she walked over to her fallen Pokémon, already pulling out a few full restores. “Thought I had you that time.”

“You were close,” Saito admitted, gratefully taking the offered Full Restores from Louise’s hand. He began administering the medicine, happy to see his Pokémon healing up quickly. As Brennaraki got to her feet, Ronin put his fist in his palm and bowed in respect, with Brennaraki bowing back. Both were smiling.

“Good job, guys.” Louise smiled before turning her attention to her other Pokémon, her smile ceasing. She saw Espirit exactly as she had left her, over on the other side of the camp and using her psychic abilities on a large rock. She was trying to crush it, and to her credit a few hairline cracks appeared, but it didn’t seem to be working out. Louise’s smile left her face, and she began to walk over, only for Maindo teleport in, grab the rock, and silently crush it without much effort. She and Espirit looked at him in shock as he smiled and teleported away, and then Louise began to fume.

“Why that little…” She calmed herself, taking in a deep breath. He wasn’t going to win this one. Ignoring Maindo, Louise continued walking over to Espirit and kneeled down. Espirit looked up at her, disappointment and frustration easily seen in her eyes, but Louise merely smiled back.

“Hey, its okay,” she said, attempting to sooth her Pokémon. “You’re getting better. In no time at all you’ll be crushing that boulder. Okay? So no frowning. You can’t let bullies get on top of you.” She directed a pointed glare at Maindo, who simply smirked at her annoyed look. A series of images entered her mind, and Louise looked back down at Espirit, a sad smile on her face. “Yeah, I know how it feels. But you keep trying, and you’ll get there. Never let anyone tell you different.”

* * *

 

Eager to get to Camphrier Town, Louise and Saito had set off early in the morning. Not quite at dawn, but close to it. By the time they finally arrived, people were just now starting to open their doors and go to work. It also meant that the Poke-Mart wasn’t ready for business, but given how the Pokémon Center was open twenty-four hours a day, it wasn’t much of an issue.

“I’m still weirded out by that family,” Louise shook her head as they walked out of the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy waving goodbye. Saito patted her shoulder before stopping at the Poke-Mart. She prepared to step forward, only for Saito to cough and hold out his hand. Slowly and reluctantly, Louise gave Saito her credit card, who smiled as he took it and walked inside.

“I’m not bad with money. He’s bad with money…” Louise grumbled to herself. Before the two of them had first set off from Lumiose to Camphrier, they had decided to set some ground rules between them. Nothing formal, like a contract, but more of what they could and could not share. Things like food, clothing, sleeping supplies, and medicine. They had also decided that Saito would oversee the money, despite Louise’s protests. Given how she was living off a hundred thousand Pokédollars, carried over from the Collette Family settlement, and that Sycamore had given her that money in the first place meant that by all rights he could decide who was in charge with it. Apparently, he hadn’t forgotten Louise’s shopping spree, and after Saito saw the aftereffects of that spree, he readily agreed with the professor, and so she got outvoted.

She was still grumbling when Saito emerged from the store, to which he merely chuckled and handed back the card.

“So,” Saito began, “off to Parfum Palace like you wanted?” Louise stopped grumbling at his question, happy that he remembered his promise to take her there.

“Actually, there’s a museum in town that I’d like to check out first, if you don’t mind.” Louise pointed to the museum in question. It was a large Romantic-style castle on a hill, surrounded by a moat, and visible from the entirety of Camphrier. “Shabboneau Castle. I think it would be interesting.”

Saito gazed at the castle in question, cupping his chin, before nodding. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” Their plan set, the two began walking towards the castle. As they did, they came across an irritated man, dressed in blue with a red hat, talking to others at Palais Lane. They two paid him no heed, but they couldn’t help but overhear him.

“I’m telling you, there’s something out there. Something old, something powerful. It’s got all the other Pokémon in Route 6 on edge,” he said.

“Come on, Calem,” a girl replied. “I’m sure you’re just taking things out of proportion. Besides, the increased agitation of the Pokémon you’re talking about? It happens all the time here. Now come on. Mom is expecting back home soon.” The boy, Calem from what Saito and Louise could tell, moved to protest, only to stop and sigh. The brother and sister then left down Rivière Way, while Louise and Saito continued walking, the conversation already leaving their minds.

[~][~]


	23. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito head to Parfum Palace, hoping for a chance to meet the nobility of Kalos, only to find the princess of Kalos lacking.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 3**

* * *

As they stood in front of the massive gates, Louise and Saito gazed upon the castle in awe, but each experienced a rather different mix of emotions. For Saito, the structure was a masterful example of construction, a work of art, really; the history in the walls humbled him, yet excited him at the same time. For Louise, it was a vastly different matter. Shabboneau Castle wasn’t _just_ a magnificent and grand castle. It was, but to her it was a reminder of home, a place of familiarity in an otherwise alien world.

“Hey,” Saito began, sounding concerned, “You okay?”

“Huh?” Louise looked at him, confused. It was then that she felt a dampness on her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” the rosecrown shook her head and began to walk forward. Saito moved to reach out to her but thought better of it and just followed her instead.

As they opened the castle gates, Louise’s mind drifted back to the matter at hand. Castles like these were common back home. Princess Henrietta lived in one, in fact, and it honestly blew this castle out of the water–but that might just be her own personal bias in play there. At the same time, it also emphasized how different things were here in Kalos. This castle wasn’t a symbol of strength, like the ones back home. It was more a relic of a bygone era, back when Kalos truly was ruled by nobility. Now the country was a constitutional monarchy, the nobles stripped of their power and left merely as cultural institutions. The thought frightened her–admittedly–but it seemed to work for them.

“Welcome to Shabboneau Castle!” an elderly man said as he approached the duo, “Are you here to visit the museum, or do you have an appointment with Lord Shabboneau?”

“We’re just here for the museum,” Saito quickly said, cutting Louise off.

The man smiled, “Well, that’s wonderful. Right this way, please, and feel free to ask any questions you may have.”

The two followed the man down a grand hallway lined with portraits of well-dressed people, though there seemed to be few commonalities between them. None of them looked related, so they couldn’t be family portraits. The style of dress varied between them as well. Some were rich, some were poor, so they weren’t all nobility.

“Excuse me,” Louise began, halting the old man in his tracks. He turned towards her, given Louise his full attention, and she cleared her throat. “Who are these people in the portraits?”

“So, you noticed?” the old man said. He gestured towards the paintings with an outstretched palm. “Well, this is Barnabas de Shabboneau’s collection of portraits. Before you ask, there really isn’t any rhyme or reason to this collection. Barnabas simply bought whatever caught his eye.

“In fact, here is a perfect example of his collecting habits,” he said, stopping in front of a stylized painting of a burly man with ominous brown splotches scattered across the canvass. “This man was Erik the Wrathful, a notorious pirate from a time when the Ferrum region was still considered a hive of scum and villainy. There’s actually a bit of a legend behind this painting if you would like to hear it.”

“Why not?” Louise said, and Saito nodded.

“Well,” the old man clasped his hands together and turned towards the painting, “legend says that on one of his raiding trips, Erik captured a frigate carrying a Kantoan artist, and took him hostage. Fearing for his life, the artist offered his services as an artist in exchange for his freedom, and Erik accepted, under the condition that the artist paint a portrait of him. The artist reluctantly agreed, even though he knew that portraits were not his strong suit. He tried his best, exaggerating and emphasizing certain features to make Erik appear more threatening. However, the raider took one look at the finished painting and slashed the man across the chest, splattering the poor man’s blood across his last work,” the man then turned around and chuckled at the pair’s horrified faces.

“You don’t need to look so shocked, we had some tests done a few years back and discovered that the brown spots were merely coffee stains. Incidentally, Erik the Wrathful was said to have died from caffeine poisoning.” He lightly chucked at the irony.

“…You can die from caffeine?” Louise raised her eyebrow and looked towards the splotches with mildly morbid curiosity. Saito, on the other hand, just looked irritated.

“If you know that the story is false, why do you still tell it?” Saito asked.

“Tradition,” the man answered. “Plus, it’s a treat to see the reactions visitors have to the tale. Anyways, there is another painting that you must see before we continue. This way!”

The man led them down the end of the hall, pointing out a few notable paintings along the way, until they came to a large mural. The mural was distinctive in that it depicted a partially destroyed building instead of a person or group of people.

“This is a relatively new addition to our collection, and while it doesn’t exactly mesh with the other pieces, it fits for another reason. This mural depicts Parfum Palace as it was at the end of the Great War some fifty years ago. While some of the damage seen was caused by the many airstrikes throughout the war, most of it was caused by a four-month siege around the middle of the war by Almian forces, backed by their Orrean allies. What you see is how the palace looked after it was liberated by Corporal Surge Matis of the Unovan Army and a group of wild Raichus he herded together.”

“What was so important about Parfum Palace?” Louise asked. She had known about the Great War. Bloodiest war in Earth’s history, the scale of which terrified her. Tensions had been building between the various regions around the world for decades until finally it erupted after a terrorist attack in Unova by Orrean agents posing as radical extremists. Unova retaliated, alliances were drawn, and after seven years of fighting, there were millions of people and Pokémon dead, Orre was practically wiped off the map to the point where they still hadn’t recovered, and Unova was unquestionably the strongest region in the world. That war was why everyone spoke Unovan now, or at least knew it.

The man looked surprised but continued where he left off. “Parfum Palace is the traditional home of the royal family of Kalos, and while the King doesn’t live there anymore, his son still does.”

“Oh,” Louise said, embarrassed by the situation.

“Anyways, that concludes our tour of the permanent collection,” the man said, “We are not hosting any exhibits at the moment, but feel free to take a brochure as you leave.” With that, they made their way back to the entrance, but Louise stopped once they entered the lobby.

“I’m sorry for my error earlier,” she said to the man, “but, if I may ask a favor of you, are there any tailors in this town that you would recommend?”

The man just laughed, “No need to worry about that, but if you want my opinion…”

“Louise,” Saito interjected, “I’m going to take my team out to train in the woods. I’ll be waiting for you in the plaza by eleven-thirty, so either meet me there or call me if you are going to be delayed.”

Louise smiled and nodded before returning to her conversation with the elderly man. There was a nearby shop a few blocks away, and apparently did great work at an affordable price. She supposed Saito would approve of that. She then looked around the large room, eyeing all of the statues and mannequins

“Sir,” she caught the guide’s attention. “I have another question to ask. As you probably noticed, I’m not from Kalos, and as such I’m unfamiliar with certain parts of her history.”

“That is quite alright,” he gently smiled. “What do you wish to know?”

“Well, I was wondering about the nobility of Kalos. Why they aren’t in charge anymore. The noble families of Kalos were for thousands of years, the power of the royal family absolute, but now they’re merely figureheads. What happened?”

“Now that,” he slowly nodded, “is a complicated question, with an equally complicated answer.”

“I’d be happy to hear it. I’m in no rush.”

“Then by all means,” he gestured towards a seat, which Louise took. “To understand why the nobility no longer has any power, you have to understand how Kalos came to be. Kalos has a rich, deep history stretching back in some way, shape or form four thousand years. When King Kalos of Lumiose unified the various smaller kingdoms for the first time, Coumarine, Shalour, Ambrette, Cyllage, and many more, they accepted him as King, and all the other royal bloodlines became the lesser noble houses. For the next thousand years, Kalos experienced a time of prosperity and expansion. They were without question the strongest nation in the world.”

“What happened?”

“The Kalosian Civil War happened. Three thousand years ago, the King of Kalos ruled the kingdom justly and fair. The land was prosperous. But prosperity creates greed and envy. His younger brother wanted this for himself and started a revolt in an attempt to take the throne. That war devastated the country and was only ended when the King built and fired the Ultimate Weapon, the very same one used by Lysandre a year ago. That ended the war, but soon after the King became obsessed with his creation. His beloved Floette died in the fighting, and he was determined to bring her back to life using the weapon. Thousands of Pokémon’s lives were sacrificed to activate it, and in the end, he succeeded. But, the Floette was disgusted and left him. He disappeared soon after, and outside of his younger brother burying the weapon in an attempt for repentance, the unity that held Kalos together disintegrated.”

“That’s…awful,” Louise looked downcast. She knew how bad wars of succession could get. The allure of power was all-encompassing for some. “But that doesn’t really answer my question.”

“I’m getting there, don’t worry. In short, the actions of the King and his younger brother left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Kalosian nobility. It wouldn’t be for another two thousand years until Kalos was reunified under the current royal family, but from the very beginning their power was much more limited. No longer was their word law. As part of the unification process, a House of Lords was created, giving the noble families more say in Kalosian affairs. For the next seven hundred years, Kalos functioned this way, but various noble families grew more and more complacent with their position. Grew more and more extravagant at the expense of the commoners. In the end, things reached a boiling point and there was a real possibility of a revolution. One that the king knew the nobility could not win.”

“How?” Louise was wide-eyed. She couldn’t wrap her head around nobles not being inherently stronger. She soon realized her error. “Pokémon.”

“Exactly. The commoners, by default, had a much closer relationship to Pokémon than the nobility. Sure, most weren’t as powerful as the Dragon-types and Arcanines and other various Pokémon of the nobility, but all Pokémon can be powerful, especially in the right hands. Not to mention the commoners and their Pokémon outnumbered the nobility ten to one. It was simply a numbers game, and in the end, the King preempted the revolution by installing a House of Commons. Over time, the House of Commons grew more and more powerful as the population grew until it was they who had the real power of Kalos. A fact that was only solidified by the Great War. So now, the noble families still exist, but no longer have the control over the country as they once did.”

“I…see,” Louise grew silent. The thought disturbed her. Not because of what Kalos did – again, it seemed to work for them, and she wasn’t going to judge another world for their customs – but what it meant for back home.

Back home, there was a defined order of things. Nobles at the top as rulers, commoners at the bottom and serving the nobility. Magic made that hierarchy natural and accepted. Yet at the same time, many thought that was the only qualification of the relationship. She heard of many who simply thought that doing whatever they wanted, so long as it was contained within the letter of the law, was morally acceptable, no matter how heinous. They had forgotten that the relationship was a two-way street. Nobles had to protect those below them. Nobility wasn’t a right, it was a responsibility. Her mother stressed that every day to Louise and her sisters.

That relationship had completely broken down in Albion, and now there was a Republican Reconquista going on. From what she could tell, the Tudors didn’t have much time left. Could something like what happened to Kalos happen back home? While she vehemently believed that Princess Henrietta would be able to stave it off, she couldn’t deny that abuses of power had occurred. It disgusted her, truly, and in her time at the academy, she couldn’t help but overhear hushed whispers of grievances against the student body, all nobles, against the common staff.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to ruminate on such matters. Bidding farewell to the kind old man, Louise turned and walked out of the museum. She would focus on this once she got back to Tristain. Kalos may be from a different world with different rules, but that didn’t mean that its history could be ignored.

* * *

 

“Ok, Maindo, try it again!”  
  
A trio of rocks glowed blue, slowly rising into the air as they orbited around the Ralts. Ever since Maindo had figured out Psychokinesis, Saito had been working with him to master it. At this point, the training was simply picking up large objects and performing complex tasks with them, but he was improving. Ronin and Tanuki continued to practice on some ways away, Ronin by honing his water attacks and Tanuki performing glowing katas.  
  
“You can drop them now, Maindo,” Saito said, noticing the strained expression on his teammate’s face. The Ralts readily complied, breathing as heavily as if he had just run a mile. Saito smiled, pulling a bottle of water and a handful of berries out of his pouch and giving them to Maindo.  
  
“Good job, buddy. Now, relax a bit while I check on Ronin and Tanuki….” Saito trailed off when he stood up and discovered that Maindo had disappeared on him. Sighing, he bent down to place the berries and water on the ground before a shadow stretched out of the ground, snatched the items out of his hand, and darted off into the trees.

‘ _Well, at least he took the berries,_ ’ He shook his head. Any progress was good progress, no matter how small. He prepared to walk away, only to feel something small hit the back of his head. He stopped and groaned. Without even looking, Saito already knew that Maindo had thrown one of the berries’ seeds at him.  
  
Shaking his head, the trainer walked over to the other side of the clearing where Ronin was honing his water attacks on some trees and Tanuki was practicing some glowing katas, "Alright, how are you guys doing over here?" Tanuki smiled and started his exercise again but paused as he started staring at a section of the woods.

“What is it?” Saito asked before he started feeling _something_. It was like a noise just on the edge of his hearing, something half-seen out of the corner of his eye. Maindo felt it too, and suddenly went very still as they both scanned the clearing. Something was wrong, very wrong.  
  
“Form up and stay close, something’s going on!” Ronin and Tanuki immediately complied and rushed over, Tanuki having already sensed the disturbance. All four of them huddled around each other, scanning every area of the tree line. Saito thought he saw a large white eye starting at him, but as soon as he turned his head, it disappeared back into the foliage.  
  
“What was—” he was cut off as three monkey like creatures fell out of the forest. All of them looked similar, but one was green, another red, and the third blue. Saito recognized them immediately, not even needing to pull out his Pokédex. They were a Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour, Pokémon native to Unova. The first one was clutching its head in pain and howling angrily, while the other two looked like they were ready to murder whatever was responsible.  
  
“What the hell?” Saito muttered before groaning in exasperation. Normally the Elemental Monkeys were so happy and carefree, yet these looked to be in a great deal of pain and extremely pissed off. He already had an idea as to who was responsible, and he groaned.

“Dammit, Maindo. What did you do this time?” he said to himself as he massaged his forehead.  Sighing again, he spoke up louder, directly at the trio. “Look, I’m sorry abou—” he started, only for the Simisear and Simisage to spit out a torrent of fire and a stream of glowing seeds at them.

“Move!” Saito yelled as he and his Pokémon immediately went into action. Ronin shot out a Water Pulse at the charging Simisear, who staggered at the impact but kept going. The Simisage turned to retaliate at the otter, only to be intercepted by Tanuki’s Quick Attack.

The two entered into a brawl, the Simisage biting, scratching, and hissing with reckless abandon while Tanuki threw out glowing punches and kicks. Tanuki’s fist glowed as he threw a Meteor Mash at the grass monkey, only for it to leap back and yowl. Undeterred, Tanuki charged forward, his fist still glowing, only for him to suddenly trip as grass sprang out from the ground and wrapped around his ankle. The Simisage was on him instantly, and all Tanuki could do was cover his head while it kicked and scratched at him mercilessly. After a few moments, the Grass Knot loosened, and Tanuki sprung to his feet. His body briefly glowed as he Countered one last swipe of claws, then rained blow after blow onto the Simisage, an angry snarl on his face.

Ronin, meanwhile, continued to duel the Simisear. The much larger monkey was, like his green counterpart, mostly fighting at a primal level. Seeing how that wasn’t working, the fire monkey created a large fireball in its hand before throwing it at Ronin, who shot it out of the air with an Air Slash like it was a clay pigeon. As the slice of compressed air made contact with the fireball, it exploded, sending a wave of fire across their battleground. Ronin was buffeted by it, and his fur looked partially scorched, but otherwise he seemed fine. He did look irritated, though, and immediately launched a Water Pulse at the monkey’s chest.

That left only the Simipour to continue charging, and to Saito’s horror, he noticed it was going for him. He prepared to jump out of the way, only for a psychic aura to envelop the creature and hurled it away. Maindo launched a Shadow Ball at the Simipour, sending it back further. When Maindo launched another, the Simipour dodged it and leapt at the Ralts, who barely managed to push it away.

Again, the blue monkey fought mostly with primal instinct. Saito was beginning to notice a pattern. Whatever was causing their aggression was also somehow affecting their ability to use their moves, or at the very least making them so angry that they couldn’t think of using them. Judging the wave of burning fire the Simisear launched towards Ronin, it seemed to be the latter. Maindo reappeared right in the Simipour’s face, a large Shadow Ball already forming in his hands. It exploded, making the monkey recoil. It then glowed in a pink aura as Maindo grabbed its head and slammed it into the ground before hurling it away.

“What is going on?” Saito wondered aloud. The battle was coming to an end, and to his relief, his team was winning. It didn’t hurt that the Elemental Monkeys still didn’t use their diverse move set. Was whatever causing the agitation to the wild Pokémon preventing them from doing so? A sort of mental block? Before he could ponder any further, the three wild Pokémon were launched into a thick tree, one after another. Each successive impact further cracked the tree, until it then toppled over entirely. Saito’s Pokémon closed in on the three monkeys as they picked themselves off the ground. Rather than continue to fight, they began to trudge back into the forest, briefly stopping to shoot a dirty look at the trainer. Soon, they were gone, leaving Saito and his Pokémon alone and confused.  
  
“… I don’t know what that was about,” Saito nervously said, “but we should probably head back into town.”  
  
His teammates couldn’t agree more.

* * *

 

Louise was happy for herself as the exited the tailor, her clothes pressed and pristine and flicking the cared in her fingers. Saito had given her back the card with the warning of not going overboard, and to her pride was able to fulfil that demand. The tailor was indeed quite affordable, and the work She was happily preening herself and looking her outfit over when Saito found her a hour earlier than expected.

“Saito? Is something wrong?” Louise asked as she ran over to him. He was panting, but not injured.

“Kinda,” he responded with a grimace, “There’s something wrong with the Pokémon on Route 6. They’re agitated about something.”

“What? What do you mean?” Louise was confused.

“We were attacked by a Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour.”

“What? Why? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry, but… For the life of me, I don’t know why they did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that there was no reason why they attacked. Elemental Monkeys aren’t territorial, and in fact are quite friendly creatures. They didn’t seem like they were challenging us to a battle, and, while I’m not discounting that Maindo did something to piss them off, they seemed to be lashing out more than anything.”

“Lashing out?”

“The Simipour was in pain. A lot of it, apparently, but I didn’t see any injuries on it, nor with the others. It was as if it was all mental. They saw me and thought, for whatever reason, I was behind it. The strangest thing, and the main reason why I don’t think Maindo is responsible, was that the Simipour didn’t even use any moves. Very…primal and raw.”

“That’s…disturbing,” Louise mused. She looked towards the Palais Gate. “Do you think we should wait on going up to Parfum Palace?”

Saito shook his head. “No, no. You wanted to go up there, and between the two of us, we should be fine.”

“Thank you,” Louise smiled. “Now then, two things. One, we’ll walk up to Parfum with our Pokémon all out, just in case.”

“Agreed. What’s the second thing.”

“We’re going to need to get you a better set of clothes. I will not have you meet the royal family wearing a hoodie.”

Saito groaned. He was already regretting his decision.

* * *

 

They ended up buying Saito a nice navy-blue blazer along with a white undershirt and khaki pants. He looked nice, if Louise said so herself, and at that the two set off for Parfum Palace. They stayed on the road, avoiding any traces of nature that they could, and managed to keep themselves free of any dirt or grime. Coupled with a psychic field created by Espirit, the two of them were quite sheltered from the elements. The two walked up to the Parfum Gates without incident, Louise a little peeved at Saito’s apparent overreaction. Nothing had happened, but she did admit that the feeling of being watched was back. Still, she composed herself.

Louise stood at the door to Parfum Palace and hesitated, despite herself. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, meeting some of the local nobility and possibly forming some bonds. However, something made her pause.

“Uhh, Louise?” Saito asked, “Are you having second thoughts about this?”

“What?” the rosecrown indignantly said as she turned around, “I’m just… just composing myself for my introduction.”

“It’s ok if you don’t feel ready,” he said, “we are most likely going to be coming back through here.”

“It is of no concern. I’m perfectly ready for this,” Louise declared, confidently knocking on the door. “Besides, weren’t you the one worrying about agitated Pokémon attacking us on the way here? And nothing happened. I’m honestly starting to think you only said that to scare me.”

Saito flinched slightly at her accusation. Before he could speak, the door opened, revealing a curly-haired maid with a rather bored expression on her face.

“So, you finally decided to stop loitering,” she said, “State your business here, and be snappy about it.”

Louise was taken aback by the maid’s curt demeanor but pushed on anyways. “My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière, and we wish to have an audience with the lord of this castle.” She respectfully bowed and used the formal tone and language she would use with nobles back home.

The maid yawned, “The _grand duke_ is visiting his wife’s family in Alola and will not return for some time. Good day!”

The maid began to close the door, but Louise hurriedly stuck her foot in its path.

“I’m terribly sorry for getting his title wrong,” the rosecrown said, “but is there anyone here that I may talk to in his stead?”

The maid frowned, but dutifully answered, “His daughter, Princess Allie, remained behind, but she lacks any real power over the estate and is unlikely to have any time to entertain visitors. Good day!” She tried to shut the door once again, to similar results.

“Could you at least check?” the young noble pleaded.

The maid sighed and reluctantly opened the door. “Fine. Wait inside, I’ll go see if she’s willing to meet with you.”

The pair entered the palace and the maid went to find the princess, grumbling the entire time about indignant children. Saito chose to remain standing, while Louise, who was more accustomed to noble society, sat down on one of the chairs.

* * *

 

It was nearly twenty minutes before the maid returned, accompanied by another maid, although her outfit was rather peculiar. At a glance, her outfit was clearly designed differently from her companion’s, and several parts appeared to be made of metal. It seemed to be constricting the woman and did not look at all comfortable. Her gloves in particular were completely made out of metal, looking almost like gauntlets rather than gloves. Louise supposed it was a stylistic choice on her part, so she paid it no heed.

“Well, sis,” the maid from before said, “here are the two I told you about.”

The second maid grinned happily and brought her hands together with a metallic clap. “Welcome to Parfum Palace, honored guests~! My name is Annabelle, but most call me Snow. But enough talking, follow me~!” With that, Snow rapidly about-faced, causing her cyan hair to whip around rapidly, and marched off, leaving the two stunned trainers behind.

“So, she’s your sister?” Saito cautiously asked the first maid.

“Yes, Snow is my elder sister,” the maid confirmed, “Now, if you don’t mind, it’s her first day as Head Maid, and you’ve caused her enough problems already, showing up unannounced. So get going!”

“Uhh, yes, ma’am!” Saito said, quickly following the head maid, Louise following a few seconds later. It didn’t take long for them to catch up, although it appeared that the maid hadn’t noticed their absence, as she was idly prattling on about something or another. The prattling stopped once she did, and she let out a glowing smile.

“I hope that you are hungry~!” she said, addressing them, “Princess Allie has graciously invited you to join her for lunch!”

Saito began to object but was silenced by an elbow to the ribs.

“What will we be having?” Louise asked.

“And we’re here~!” Snow said, completely ignoring the question as she threw open a pair of doors and walked into the dining hall, “I’ll go inform Princess Allie that the meal is ready, so feel free to get situated in the meantime.”

“You never answered my question,” Louise said as the cerulette quickly left the room, “Never mind. Saito, would you kindly sit down? It seems like I have enough time to give you a crash course on etiquette.”

Saito groaned.

* * *

 

Louise had only just managed to teach Saito enough so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself when the sound of clanking metal heralded Snow’s return.

“Honored guests! I present to you, Princess Allie of Parfum Palace!” she declared, stepping aside to allow an elegantly dressed young girl to enter the room.

“ _Uhahahaha_ I’m so happy to meet another noble around my age!” the princess said.

“W-well, I’m happy to meet you too. How did-?” Louise said.

“Please, I recognized the name of foreign nobility anywhere! I have so many questions for you, but we can talk after lunch,” Allie turned to Snow, “Annabelle?”

“Right away, ma’am!” the maid replied, rapping her knuckles against her wrist three times to call the servers.

The meal wasn’t exactly what Louise had expected, being simply a platter of grilled fish, but it certainly met her standards for a noble’s meal. The meal was uneventful, apart from Snow excusing herself after a loud crash was heard from the kitchen–returning ten minutes later with a rather menacing looking light blue Pokémon with a spiked back in tow. She smiled sheepishly while the spiked Pokémon rubbed its head in embarrassment.

“Annabelle,” Allie said once she had finished eating, “aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh! I’m sorry! Must have slipped my mind.” Snow said, pulling out a blue and red Pokéball. “Sandslash, return.” A red beam shot out and struck the Sandslash, sucking it in. Saito and Louise turned back towards Allie, only to be surprised that she looked unimpressed.

“I wasn’t referring to your partner, Annabelle.” Her tone was flat, devoid of the earlier friendliness towards Louise. “Why are you still dressed like that?” Snow looked confused, while Saito and Louise just looked on silently.

“You said that the Head Maid must be distinct, and none of Sarah’s old dresses fit me,” she pointed out.

“You two are the same height, why wouldn’t they fit you?”

Snow awkwardly tapped her corset instead of answering. “A-anyways, I need to go prepare the garden. Please excuse me.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Annabelle!” Allie exclaimed, “Why don’t you take our guests there?”

“Of course, right this way!” Snow quickly led the two trainers out of the room, an uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of their stomachs.

* * *

 

“You might not believe me, but this is the second time today that we've been in a hall of portraits,” Louise said, taking in the many regal paintings that lined the hall; however, something about them was bugging her.

“Are you referring to the Shabboneau Art Gallery?” Snow queried, “I’ve been there once or twice before, but my responsibilities here have prevented me from visiting recently. Did you see the mural?”

“We did,” Saito answered, “It’s pretty interesting to see how this place was rebuilt.”

“I guess that I’ll have to visit once the Grand Duke and his wife return,” Snow said, smiling, “Anyway~, if you want to know about the paintings, I’ll do my best to explain, though I’m not as good as the guys over there.”

“Well,” Louise said, taking the cerulette up on her offer, “who are all these people?”

“Eh?” the maid turned around, her continence twisted into a look of utter confusion, “These _paintings_ depict the royal family of Kalos throughout the ages! I'm certain that at least William de Kalos has a portrait at Shabboneau Castle, so why wouldn’t you recognize him!? In fact…”

At that point, Snow simply began ranting on and on, only stopping when she saw the horrified expressions on Louise and Saito’s faces.

“Oh~, I’m sorry, I seem to have lost my train of thought,” she said, the innocent, cherubic smile on her face completely at odds with her demeanor mere seconds earlier, “Right this way~!”

“That… was strange,” Saito said, following the maid.

Louise, on the other hand, was much more embarrassed by her perceived slight against the royal family, and consequently began to pay more attention to the portraits in the hall. It may have been due to her embarrassment that she finally noticed what was bothering her: a rather peculiar sword could be found somewhere in nearly every painting. While at first glance it seemed to be a normal broadsword, the blue tassel extending from the pommel and the blue eye set into the cross guard seemed to suggest otherwise. Additionally, the sword appeared to age from painting to painting, as signs of damage on the blade remained roughly the same or worsened, until it suddenly stopped appearing altogether. Curious, the rosecrown doubled back until she reached the painting with the clearest view of the sword. The portrait depicted a man clad in a dress uniform and bedecked in a reduced version of the king’s regalia; however, Louise was more interested in what he held. The long-dead king had the sword unsheathed, pointing it off into the distance while the tassel wrapped itself around his arm. The young noble pulled out her Pokédex and took a picture of the blade, searching through the device’s memory until she found a match. Surprisingly, the algorithm pulled up an entry from the Pokédex, running it as soon as the search concluded.

_“Honedge, the Sword Pokémon,”_ it chirped, _“This Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force.”_

“A Pokémon?” Louise muttered to herself, “Could it be the same one in each of these?” However, the rosecrown was pulled out of her thoughts by her companion shouting at her.

“Hey, Louise! Are you coming?” he said.

“Yes, I am!” she shouted back, running down the hall as fast as she could.

* * *

 

Louise caught up to the others quickly and were led out to the spacious garden. It was extravagant, taking the two trainer’s breath away.

“This is… This is beautiful,” Louise gazed out over the green landscape. She could see workers trimming the bushes and watering the plants, along with a herd of beautiful and exotic Pokémon. She recognized a few of them. Furfrou, Arcanines, Ninetails, a Milotic in the center fountain, and many more she couldn’t recognize. All of them looked regal and beautiful, befitting a royal family.

“Ahh~, I always enjoy coming out here and just basking in the Sun,” Snow sighed and leaned her head on her hand.

“I can see why,” Saito replied, equally awed by the sight. The three then went to a large tree towards the center next to the fountain, a few chairs seated under its canopy. Louise and Saito sat down on them, while Snow remained standing

“Princess Allie will be out her momentarily.” She bowed. “Please, enjoy the gardens until then~!” She turned to leave, but Saito raised a hand, stopping her. “Yes?”

“Is it okay for us to have our Pokémon out?” he asked, pulling out a Pokéball. “I think they’d really like it out here.”

“Of course!” Snow smiled and threw her arms wide. “I see no reason why not! Please, proceed.” Saito and Louise smiled and immediately released their Pokémon onto the grass. They all stretched and took in the sights of the garden, and except for the Maindo who started grinning mischievously, all looked awed. Snow smiled at their expressions. “Is there anything else?”

“Actually, I had a question regarding the paintings,” Louise asked.

“Oh? What of?”

“I noticed on several paintings a sword, a… Honedge, I believe. It looked like the same one, but those paintings were done over centuries. How can that be?”

“Ah, I see,” Snow nodded. “That was a Honedge, and you were correct that it was the same one. That Honedge had been a friend of the royal family for generations, centuries really, until one day it left.”

“How can that be?” Saito leaned forward. “How can a Pokémon live that long?”

“Honedges, like all Ghost-types, are functionally immortal,” Snow revealed. “Unless they are destroyed, they cannot die of old age, hunger, or disease. Sure, they’re still affected by it, but they won’t die from it. So really, a Honedge living that long is nothing special.”

“But it was with the royal family?” Louise pointed out. “That makes it special by default.”

“Very true. From what I read, that Honedge was a very special Pokémon. Very skilled and wise. Never once evolved, though. No one knew why.” Louise and Saito went silent.

“… Why did the Honedge disappear, then, if he was so important.”

“No one knows. He just…up and left one day, and never came back. Where he went no one knows, either. The King forbid any searching, saying that his friend deserved his rest. That was…three hundred years ago, now.”

Saito and Louise pondered this until Snow clapped her hands together. “Well, that’s enough of that. I’ll leave—” The palace doors opened, revealing the maid from before. She looked irritated, glaring at her sister, with Princess Allie standing next to her. She looked annoyed as well. The garden grew quiet, the workers stopped working and the Pokémon stopped as well.

“Eh-hem,” the maid glared at Snow, who suddenly grew wide-eyed.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” She hastily made her way over to the doors. “Presenting Princess Allie of Kalos!” As if a button was pressed, all the workers lined up on opposite sides of each forming a walkway for Allie to regally step out onto. She smiled as she did so, apparently enjoying the attention she was getting. Saito and Louise, on the other hand, grew more and more uncomfortable. To Saito, the entire thing was just odd, not used to seeing people act like this. To Louise, she was uncomfortable for a whole other matter. They weren’t doing this out of respect, far from it. She could catch quick glimpses of an angry or irritated expression on a worker’s face, some fearful, before being replaced with an artificially happy one. She was making them do this in a blatant display of power. It made her sick.

“Sorry I’m late. I was waiting for someone,” Allie looked at Snow. “I thought I told you to change into one of your sister’s clothes, Annabelle?”

“Well, I… Princess,” Snow began to nervously explain, “Rose’s clothes are all too small for me. I can barely fit into this as it is.” She tapped the metal corset in emphasis. “If I go any further, I’ll hurt myself.”

“I see,” Allie got a contemplating look on her face. Louise began to think that she was turning around. “That’s understandable. You are excused for today.”

“Thank you, Princess! I—”

“Tomorrow we start working on your weight problem.” At Allie’s declaration, everything went silent. Shocked expressions appeared on everyone’s faces, including Snow’s sister, although she quickly recomposed herself.

“…Weight…Problem?” Snow meekly asked.

“Yes,” Allie nodded, whether indifferent to the effect of her words or obvious they could not tell. “You’re obviously in need of it if we’re going to fit you into your sister’s clothes. You’re much too meaty for them.”

“I…” Snow clearly didn’t know what to say or do, shocked beyond them. She did, however, clench her teeth and tighten her fist. She looked ready to explode, but Allie either didn’t notice or didn’t seem to care.

“Don’t worry, Annabelle. Just a few weeks, and we’ll—”.

Saito had enough.

“Now wait just an Arceus-damned minute.” He angrily got up to his feet. “Snow looks perfectly fine. She does not need to lose anything to fit your insane body standards.”

“Saito!” Louise hissed at him. She was just as offended as he was, but she knew now was not the time.

“Excuse me!?” Allie screeched indignantly. Everyone else looked shocked at his outburst, but Saito ignored them.

“You heard me, you harpy! I don’t care who you are, you have no right to needlessly put someone down like that just because they don’t fit your “grand design”! So, get your head out of your ass and apologize to her!”

The garden grew silent, everyone shocked at his outburst. Louise stared wide-eyed in horror. Not at what he said, that she wholeheartedly agreed with, but the fact that he said it to a noble. Not just a noble, but the _Princess of Kalos_. He was breaking so many rules! Louise moved to apologize for him, only for Allie to blush and start laughing.

“Hehheheh!” she chuckled, causing Saito and Louise to look at her strangely. “So assertive and forceful! Could it be that you…like me?” She sounded hopeful at that, but everyone else merely stared blankly at her.

“Wha…? NO!” Saito yelled out in denial. “How would you even…?!”

“I think it is time for me and Saito to leave,” Louise got up, clasping her hand over Saito’s mouth. “I am terribly sorry for my friend’s lack of proper decorum. He’s not used to interacting with the nobility.”

“I think that is appropriate,” Snow’s sister darkly glared at the boy, who remained unrepentant.

“Again, I am terribly sorry. He acts like a _stupid dog_ sometimes. He doesn’t know any better, honest!”

“I’m sure I can—” Allie began, only for Louise to cut her off.

“No, no. I’ll take care of that, no need to over exert yourself.” Louise glared at Saito. He glared back, but after a while, closed his eyes and nodded. She took her hand off his mouth and lightly bowed to the princess, while he merely crossed his arms and glared. Allie moved to protest but stopped herself and sighed.

“Very well, you may leave. It’s a shame we weren’t able to speak more, Louise,” Allie sounded legitimately regretful, not having picked up on Louise’s genuine desire to leave. “Perhaps some other time?”

“Of course, Princess,” Louise lied. She had no intention of ever coming back here. They began to return their Pokémon, but when Louise got to Brennaraki, Allie stepped forward.

“Oh, that is a marvelous Fennekin!” Allie swooned.

“…Thank you…” Louise looked at Allie suspiciously. She prepared to return her, but Allie shook her head.

“There’s no need for that. She can stay out of her Pokéball.”

“Oh… Thank you.” Louise put the Luxury Ball away.

“Of course. Annabelle here will escort the two of you out and your Fennekin will stay here.”

“… _What_.” Louise’s voice went flat.

“Yes, obviously, in return for wasting my time. You are not a noble, no Vallière family exists anywhere in the world, which means you aren’t a noble at all!” She sounded angry now, conveniently forgetting that Louise never actually lead her on that path. “You’ve completely wasted my time ever since you got here, so now I’m getting what I am owed.” Louise said nothing. Silently, she returned Brennaraki to her Luxury Ball, and Allie smiled.

“Good, now I’ll just take that Luxury Ball and—”

“Absolutely not.” Louise clipped the ball to her belt. Allie looked enraged, but before she could protest Louise went on. “Let me tell you something, _Allie_. Brennaraki is not yours. She is _my_ starter, _my_ friend, and under no circumstances will I allow _anyone_ to take her to a place where she doesn’t want to be! And your “payment”? You can take it and, as my friend Saito would eloquently put it, shove it up your ass!” Everyone went silent at this, Saito the one with a look of shock on his face.

“Excuse me! Do you know who I am!?”

“You are a person who thinks she is a Princess but is nothing of the sort!” Louise accused, stomping up to her. “A Princess doesn’t just order people around! A Princess is a person to be respected and admired! A Princess is to be an example of what it means to be a noble, the heart and soul of any kingdom, who all citizens, nobles and commoners alike, can look up to! You are nothing of the sort! You are a bossy, manipulative, selfish woman who makes everyone conform to your unrealistic expectations and takes whatever she wants with no rhyme or reason! Tell me, do you even know what Noblesse Oblige is?” Allie looked back at Louise, enraged.

“ _No. Enlighten me_.”

“Noblesse Oblige is the responsibility of all nobles look after and care for their subjects. To keep them safe and secure and to move the country forward on a prosperous path in return for their loyalty!” Louise shouted, and her rage grew when Allie looked like Louise was speaking in a foreign language.

“That sounds made up.”

“No! No, it’s not! It’s what nobility _is_! Nobility is not a right, it’s a responsibility! You treat it like it’s a game!” The two girls looked like they were ready to explode, and Saito was growing worried. Making sure to keep an eye on the two girls, he slowly turned towards Maindo.

“Can you teleport us out of here?” He whispered to the Ralts, only to find that he had disappeared on him.

‘ _So much for the easy solution,_ ’ he grimaced as he turned his attention back to Louise and Allie. Louise and Allie. It was getting more and more heated, and now they were both shouting at each other. To his relief, it looked like Louise was winning, judging by how angry Allie was getting, but in and of itself was a cause of concern.

Discreetly, he released Tanuki. “Find out where Maindo went and bring him back to the main road. We are going to wait for you there.” With a quick nod, the hound stealthily bounded off into the gardens and after taking a moment to steel himself, he quickly took hold of Louise’s arm and, ignoring her protests, began to drag her out of the palace. The workers all parted for them, some of whom looked relieved that someone finally said what they were all thinking, and it wasn’t long until they exited the front gates. He could feel Allie’s glare at the back of his head, but he ignored it.

He never noticed the flurry of shapes fluttering through the trees towards him and Louise.

[~][~]


	24. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito angrily leave the haughty princess of Kalos behind, only to run into a swarm of unknown Pokemon.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 4**

[~][~]

On the highest branch of the central tree, Tanuki stared out across the garden. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Saito drag an angry Louise out of the palace. She was still arguing with the Princess, who herself was yelling right back. They were both red in the face, flush with anger, but soon enough Louise and Saito were out of view, and the sounds of arguing ceased. They were then replaced by the Princess yelling at her servants, who dutifully complied.

“ _Geez, what a basket case_ ,” the hound mumbled to himself as he watched Allie stomp back to her room. Frankly, he didn’t really care what she felt. Louise and Saito were one-hundred percent in the right during that scene. She had it coming. If only he…

He shook his head. It was not the time to be thinking about that. He had a job to do. Closing his eyes, Tanuki activated his Aura Sight and began to scan the palace grounds. It was easy at first, but as his sight slowly expanded, it became harder and harder to keep it up, the strain becoming worse with each passing second. Before, in Santalune, he was focusing on the Aura signatures of humans, something he had plenty of experience with. They tend to have a noticeable aura signature. Even then, it was more of a spotting a lighthouse on the horizon rather than pinpointing an exact location. Here, it was much more difficult. He was searching for a small Pokémon signature potentially in a large area, one who could teleport at that. Maindo’s signature could easily be drowned out by something else.

“ _Gaagh!_ ” Tanuki lost focus, the strain had grown too much. Dropping to his knee, Tanuki began to breathe deeply in ragged breaths. There had been too much for him to focus on.

“ _… Okay, that was…harder than expected._ ” He stood back up and looked out over the garden again. It hadn’t been that long since he’d started, perhaps only ten minutes. It wouldn’t be too hard to catch back up to them. Just find Maindo, leave, and then…

He stopped. An idea slowly slithered into his mind, like an Arbok sneaking inside a nest. He could just leave. He didn’t _have_ to find Maindo. He could just say that Maindo teleported away, and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t find the runaway Ralts. It was tempting, really. Maindo had been nothing but trouble ever since they met the Ralts. All the insults he threw, his lack of participation, the mean-spirited pranks, and generally being a colossal pain in the ass constantly grated Tanuki’s being. Sure, he liked to joke around every so often, but his jokes were always light-hearted and in good fun. Ones where everyone could look back on and laugh. Maindo’s “pranks” were just him being a dick. He was especially hard on Espirit, and that always made Tanuki’s blood boil. For the life of him, Tanuki couldn’t quite figure out just why Maindo acted the way he did. Saito did nothing wrong to him, and from what little Maindo had revealed, it wasn’t like he was a previously abused Pokémon from another trainer. He was just an asshole, but even that wouldn’t explain the depths Maindo had sunk to. It would be easier to just leave him behind.

But even then, Tanuki knew he couldn’t do it. Leaving him behind was wrong, and even if he left the Ralts behind, Saito would be worried about him. Besides, what kind of Pokémon would he be if he betrayed a teammate like that, even if that teammate was a pain in everyone’s ass.

Shaking the dark thought out of his mind, Tanuki closed his eyes again and extended his Aura sight. This time, he fought through the strain, and began to filter out the Auras of humans and Pokémon. This made it easier, but the strain over looking over such a vast area was still enormous. Just before he lost the battle again, he found him. The Ralts was on top of the palace roof, standing on a spire. He hadn’t seemed to notice Tanuki was there.

His target found, Tanuki quietly hopped off the tree and ran towards the palace walls. His small body made it difficult for the human workers and lounging Pokémon to see him, so he wasn’t impeded in the slightest. Reaching the walls, he began to hop from window to window, rising upwards with each bound. Soon, he was safely on the roof and made a beeline towards the Ralts.

‘ _Was wondering when you’d find me. Might want to get that checked out. I mean, how hard can it be to see a bright green spot on a red roof_ ,’ Maindo said as Tanuki made his way towards him. Tanuki narrowed his eyes before shaking his head.

“ _Come on, we have to get back to Saito. He sent me back to get you.”_

 _‘Oh, I know why you’re still here. Frankly, you hounds are all too easy to read. Let me guess, he was_ worried _about me? And people call me adorable!’_ Tanuki growled.

“ _Listen, frankly I could care less if you came back or not—”_

‘ _Thank you! That’s so nice!’_

“… _But Saito, for some inconceivable reason, does care about you. So,_ I _care about you by proxy. So, quit being difficult for five seconds and we can—”_

‘ _Nah, I’m good.’_ Tanuki faltered at Maindo’s nonchalant answer.

“ _Wha… What?_ ”

‘ _I said, I’m good. At least for the moment, anyway._ ’

“ _Wh… Why?”_

‘ _And miss out on all the fun?’_ Tanuki’s eyes narrowed at the now grinning Ralts.

“ _I know that look. You’re planning something. So, spill.”_

‘ _Okay, okay. Not like I could hide it or anything from your big nose even if I tried!’_

“ _Get to the point!”_

‘ _Okay, geez. So angry._ ’ Maindo smiled then leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘ _Now here’s the thing. I didn’t leave with you chumps right away because I’ve got my eyes on something far more entertaining._ ’ Maindo turned his gaze towards a nearby window and grinned sinisterly. Tanuki followed his eyes and found himself staring at Princess Allie, currently berating the head maid from before. What it was about he couldn’t tell, but he had an idea it wasn’t anything good.

“ _… What do you have in mind?_ ” Tanuki found himself asking. Maindo laughed and wrapped his arm around the Riolu’s shoulder.

‘ _Listen, Tanuki. Let it me known that_ I’m _the top asshole around here, and I don’t like it when someone takes my throne._ ’

“ _…You said it, not me._ ” Maindo shrugged and continued.

‘ _It’s a fact, and I’m not ashamed of it. Still, I don’t like being usurped, and frankly, from what I’ve seen, this girl deserves to be taken down a peg or two. Back in Lumiose, one of my favorite things to do with my family was to bring humans down a few pegs, and that’s what I’m going to be doing to Princess Stick-In-The-Butt over there.’_

Tanuki went silent, contemplating his next course of action. “ _…Need some help with that?”_

Maindo’s grin got even larger.

* * *

 

“WHO DOES THAT STUPID, ENTITLED BRAT THINK SHE IS!?” Louise screamed as she stomped around in circles on Palais Lane. They were well past the palace now, its red roof nowhere to be seen. In its place was a sea of green grass and trees, the leaves filtering much of the summer sun and letting splotches of sunlight onto the dark forest floor. The two trainers had been sitting on a fallen log along the side of the road for some time. Or at least Saito was, as Louise had quickly began stomping around in fury.

“SHE CALLS HERSELF A PRINCESS!? _A PRINCESS?!_ SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PRINCESS IS!” Louise continued to rant and stomp. The last time Louise had acted like this, Saito had been the voice of reason attempting to calm her down.

“I know!” Saito threw his arms in the air, still seated on the log. “Just what the hell was her problem?! She had no reason to act like that!”

“None at all!” Louise shouted in agreement. She had stopped stomping at this point, and was now content with angrily standing in place, facing towards the seated Saito. “And noblise oblige is “made up”? My entire family’s philosophy is made up! And she has the _gall_ to declare me a liar! Declare that I’m “not a noble”. _Elizabeth is more of a noble than she is_!” Louise was animated again as she sat down hard on the log and screamed into her hands.

“There, there,” Saito comforted her, patting her back. “Let it out. Take a deep breath and let it out.”

“It’s just…,” Louise sighed. “I was so excited. A chance to finally meet the nobility of this country, get a semblance of home, and she goes against _everything_ a noble stands for.” Louise sighed again. “Is this why the nobility of Kalos lost their power?”

“I’m no expert,” Saito shrugged, “but from what I learned in history, that is basically what happened. Of course, there were precipitating events that preceded it, mind you. Needless and costly wars with neighboring regions, noble abuse of commoners. Oh, and don’t forget famine. There was a _big_ famine going on at the time, and while the commoner’s nearly starved, the nobles lived in the lap of luxury.”

“No wonder they revolted,” Louise grumbled. She knew full well the root cause of many commoner revolts back home. Nine-tenths of the time, they were caused by famine. A hungry peasant was willing to do just about anything alleviate that hunger. They were all put down violently, of course, but the smart rulers always fixed the problems. Others simply had more revolts appear.

“Yeah…,” Saito grew silent. The air buzzed with the sounds of insects and whistling of the wind. It was tranquil. Looking down at his belt, Saito gazed upon two of his Pokéballs. They both had the empty indicator light shining on them.

“They’re still back there?” Louise’s soft voice rang out. Saito wasn’t surprised that she noticed. Despite how angry she can get, Louise was a very observant person.

“They are.” Saito looked back in the general area of the palace. He was starting to get worried. “What is taking them so long?”

Seeing his distress, Louise pursed her lips and sat upright. Pulling out a Luxury Ball, she quickly released the Pokémon inside. The light coalesced into Aile, who preened herself before looking back up at Louise. “Aile, I need you to go back to the palace and find Maindo and Tanuki, got it?” Aile nodded and took off. Her small body disappeared into the leaves quickly, and soon she was out of sight.

“Thank you,” Saito smiled at his partner, and she smiled back.

“No problem.”

* * *

 

“ _Geez, where are those two?_ ” Aile soared over the canopy, her eyes trained on the palace in front of her. It was getting closer, yet even with her excellent vision, she was having trouble making things out. “ _Oh, once I evolve, the things I can see._ ” She sighed wistfully. That day will come, and she was getting closer. When it would happen, she didn’t know, but she hoped it would…

“ _What the?_ ” Aile stopped abruptly and hovered in place. The palace was in absolute chaos. Workers and staff were running amok, searching every nook and cranny and shouting among each other. Several of them sported marks on them, ranging from whiskers to spots and mustaches, all made of black marker. Some were crying inconsolably, and others were jumping at every shadow, as if something would jump out at them. It took a moment, but as Aile hovered in place, her eyes narrowed.

“ _What did those idiots do now?_ ” She rolled her eyes flew towards the palace. With any luck, she’d be able to spot them soon enough.

* * *

 

Allie stomped through the palace halls. The past hour had been nothing but disaster after disaster. First, her lunch, one much fancier than the one she served to those charlatans, exploded in her face and ruined her favorite dress. When she demanded a replacement dish, the cooks all ran out, screaming about haunted appliances coming alive and trying to eat them. By the time they finally went back in, the entire kitchen was a burnt, smoking wreck. If that wasn’t enough, by the time Allie finally got back to her room to change, _all_ of her dresses had been torn to shreds.

That had been the last straw, and she promptly ordered her workers to find the perpetrators. They complied, of course, and that was when the troubles started affecting them as well. One group saw a small boy walking all alone in the halls, and when they tried to investigate further, each got assaulted by a monster of their deepest nightmares. Each one described something different than the last, but they all promptly ran out screaming like little girls. She of course fired them on the spot. Can’t have cowardly workers, after all.

Other workers experienced similar events. Hallucinations, things thrown at them. One unfortunate group had their hair all dyed hot pink, somehow. She wasn’t quite sure how exactly that happened, but she had to admit it was funny. There were other pranks of that more benign nature, mostly facial and body markings along with the occasional shaved head. That was what clued the princess in that there were two perpetrators, with one more malicious than the other.

“When I get my hands on them…” Allie grit her teeth as she continued to stomp in the halls. Annabelle solemnly walked behind her, now quiet after getting quite the scolding from the princess. Inside, she was fuming, but she bit her tongue. She continued to follow behind the ranting princess, contemplating her next move. Maybe…

She paused as a small noise went out behind her. Letting the Princess continue without her, Annabelle turned around to catch a glimpse at the source. It was only for a moment, a green head and blue ears sticking out from behind a corner, but Annabelle recognized them immediately.

“Annabelle? Get back here!” Allie yelled out towards her from down the hall. Annabelle turned back towards the Princess.

“Coming, Princess!” Annabelle hurriedly walked back towards the irritated Princess, softly giggling to herself.

* * *

 

“ _I think we got a fan_.” Tanuki watched the girl walk away, a smile on his snout. This past hour had been an absolute blast, for all things considered. Every action they took just made Allie madder and madder, and Tanuki loved it.

‘ _What can I say? I do good work_.’ Maindo absentmindedly checked his nails. ‘ _So, what shall we do next?_ ’

“ _Hmm,_ ” Tanuki hummed in thought, cupping his lower snout with his paw. Tapping his foot, he began to walk back and forth, thinking up potential pranks, his original purpose for being here forgotten. “ _How about…no, we already did that one. Oh, maybe…Nah, too boring._ ” He snapped his fingers. “ _I got it! How about- “_

“ _There you are!_ ” A shrill voice rang out above them. Looking up, Tanuki and Maindo saw the hovering form of Aile covering the noon sun and casting a small, fluttering shadow over them. She looked displeased, to say the least. “ _Do you know how long its been?! An hour! Saito and Louise are worried sick!_ ”

All at once, the forgotten reasons came rushing back in, and Tanuki looked down in guilt. “ _Oh, yeah…_ ”

“’ _Oh, yeah’ is right! What were you two thinking? What were you two even_ doing _?_ ”

‘ _Oh, lighten up, birdie._ ’ Maindo yawned, clearly bored with the conversation. ‘ _So, we decided to take the princess down a few pegs. Big whoop. She deserved it._ ’

Aile wasn’t having it and she landed down in front of them. “ _Does it look like I care?_ ” she asked, staring Maindo right in the eye. He wasn’t affected.

‘ _Meh, hard to tell, really. Your beady little eyes are so hard to read, and your mind is so empty that looking at it doesn’t tell me anything._ ’

“ _Why you little-!”_ Aile lunged at the laughing Ralts, only to be held back by Tanuki.

“ _Maindo, that was uncalled for._ ” He scolded.

‘ _Meh._ ’ Tanuki glared at Maindo’s answer, then sighed.

“ _About what I expected._ ” Aile stopped struggling, and he let go. “ _Now come on. We’ve wasted enough time as it is._ ”

“ _Thank you,_ ” Aile thanked the Riolu and glared once more at Ralts. “ _That means you too, jerk._ ”

‘ _Okay, okay_.’ Maindo held up his hands in conceit. ‘ _Fine. We’ll stop._ ’

Tanuki and Aile’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had given up far to easily.

“ _What do you want?_ ” Aile asked, and Maindo chuckled.

‘ _You see, my feathered friend-_ ‘

“ _We are not friends.”_

‘ _Acquaintance, then! Point is, little birdy, you can do things I, frankly, cannot._ ’

“ _And what makes you think I would help you in…whatever it is that you are doing?”_

‘ _There’s an entire basket full of berries with your name on it if you do._ ’ Aile’s eyes widened, and her stomach growled.

“ _I, uh…. I don’t…_ ”

‘ _Inside the kitchen, there is a large basket filled with every type of berry in Kalos. Pecha, Oran, Sitrus, even imported berries like Tamato and Watmel_.’

“ _Uh…”_

‘ _All you have to do is help us with one, final prank against the Princess, and they are yours._ ”

Tanuki and Aile went silent, both staring at the grinning Ralts and quietly weighing their options.

“ _…I’m listening._ ”

* * *

 

“What is taking her so long?” Louise pranced around in worry. Saito, now on his feet, was worried as well, taking quick glances towards the direction of the palace.

“Maybe we should go back?” he suggested, but Louise shook her head.

“Not yet, not so soon after insulting the Princess like that. It would _not_ end well.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“Hmm.” Louise cupped her chin in thought. “I think…the best bet we have is to wait a bit longer for Princess Allie to calm down a bit then head back. Then, we—” Louise suddenly stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood upright, and she went very still. A chill ran up her spine, and her eyes went wide.

“Louise? What’s—” Saito felt it, too, and he went quiet. “What is that?”

“I don’t know,” Louise replied, her head darting back and forth. Without needing to say anything, Louse released her Pokémon out of their balls, Saito doing the same.

“ _Gaagh!”_ Brennaraki clutched her head and howled in pain. Ronin soon joined as he fell to the ground screaming, while Espirit fell to her knees in pain.

“Ronin!” Saito yelled at his downed Pokémon.

“Brennaraki!” Louise looked in worry between her starter and Espirit, who appeared to be using all of her psychic power to hold off against whatever was affecting them. “Espirit, what’s going on?!”

A series of brief images raced through Louise’s mind, and her eyes widened even more.

“Well? What is it?” Saito asked, kneeling over Ronin.

“Something’s affecting their minds! A Psychic-type!” Louise revealed, now holding out her wand. “Espirit’s doing everything she can to make sure we aren’t affected!”

“Well…shit!” Saito swore and ripped a tree branch off the log he was sitting on earlier. He and Louise stepped back to back, keeping a constant vigil on the surrounding forest. A faint tingle could be felt on both of their minds, but thanks to Espirit’s efforts, it ended there. “You see anything?”

“No- There!” Louise pointed her wand towards a nearby tree. “Fireball!” A loud explosion rang out, reducing the tree into a cloud of smoke and splinters. At once, the Psychic assault ceased, and the Pokémon’s wails along with it. A quick look revealed them to be unconscious, and Espirit was panting from exertion.

“…Remind me never to get in the way of one of those,” Saito murmured, eyeing the stump where the tree once stood.

“What kind of psychopath do you take me for?” Louise momentarily broke her gaze away from the tree line. “I would never do that to you or anyone else.”

“Well, that’s reassuring. Thank you.”

“Honestly,” Louise shook her head and turned back towards the trees. “I’m not that—” Louise stopped cold as she stood face to face with a giant eye. “AAAGH!” Louise jumped back and shrieked. This didn’t seem to bother the eye in the slightest, as it just tilted and seemed to hum in contemplation, still hovering in the air while Louise sat on her butt and shakily pointing her wand at it.

“What is that!?” Louise squeaked as she took the creature in sight. She had seen many Pokémon since she arrived on Earth, many strange and outlandish, but this took the top prize. Outside of a single large, white eye, it was jet back. It had no wings, yet was hovering in place, likely a result of Psychic levitation. But the strangest feature was how its body was shaped. It wasn’t like a normal body, one that closely resembled an animal. It didn’t even look artificial, with no traces of machinery in its composition. Rather, its body appeared to be an extension of its eye, with a thin black extension coming out of the top and looping halfway around its body clockwise.

“Is that…a D?” Saito looked at the Pokémon in front of him. It seemed vaguely familiar but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was. At the very least, it seemed to be peaceful. It was just floating there, staring at Louise with its large eye, not making a noise. Seeing how it wasn’t doing anything, he slowly pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it towards the creature.

“ _Unown, the Symbol Pokémon. Unown are largely a mystery to modern science. Theories exist to explain just what they are, ranging from ancient talismans coming to life to the very basis of the alphabet itself. What is known is that Unown are frequently found near ancient ruins or otherwise hidden locations, and while individually they are harmless, as the Greenfield Incident has shown, if a large enough group of Unown gather together, there is no limit on their power._ ” The Pokédex revealed, and Saito began to sweat.

“Fuck…” he gulped. Now he remembered. He had heard about the Greenfield Incident. It was all they played on the news for weeks a few years back. A little girl found a box of Unown, opened it, and the resulting psychic energy created a reality warp that nearly destroyed the town until a group of traveling trainers stopped it. Of course, it was later revealed to have been Ash Ketchum, but people didn’t put together the dots until after the Battle of Lumiose. Still, he knew just how powerful these things could be.

“Louise, we need to get out of there,” he whispered to her and lifted her off the ground. Louise had heard the Pokédex and quickly nodded.

“Okay, just back away—”

“ _Unown…”_ Saito and Louise stopped as the Unown suddenly made a noise.

“Did it just…”

“ _Unown…. Unown…._ ” The Unown continued to chant, but this time it seemed to be getting louder. Espirit suddenly went very still and clutched her head as the chants got louder and louder. The tingle came back, only now it was much worse, causing a mild headache for both trainers.

“What is it…!” The forest exploded in activity as a swarm of Unown, far too many to count, flew in from all directions. Their flight stirred the air around them and an already weakened Espirit was unprepared for the sudden force, sending her flying away with a small yelp. Louise couldn’t even scream her name before the psychic force suddenly wailed on them.

“GAAGH!” she and Saito screamed and clutched their heads as the Unown drew closer and closer.

“ _Unown… Unown…. Unown…_ ” with one final chant, the swarm exploded into a bright light and loud pop. Espirit, barely gotten to her feet, had to shield her eyes with her arm, but when the light subsided, she gasped at the sight of the empty forest in front of her.

Louise, Saito, Brennaraki, Ronin, they were all gone.

[~][~]


	25. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito have been kidnapped by a flock of Unown, whisked away to a long-forgotten ruin. There, as the Pokemon left behind plot a rescue, they meet an ancient Pokemon who knows more than what appearances may show.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 5**

[~][~]

For the longest time, Espirit just stood motionless. She stared at the now empty grass that once held her friends along with a swirling vortex of Unown. After a moment, she tentatively took a step forward, then another, and another until finally she was sprinting to where they were, hoping beyond hope she would _something_. But she found none. Beyond a faint indent in the grass, there was no sign of them anywhere. She tried psychically reaching out, hoping to somehow spot them, but again found nothing.

‘ _…Louise?_ ’ Espirit faintly called out, tears building in her eyes. Once again, she tried to scan for them, but nothing was around. She was alone.

The only sounds heard were faint sobbing.

* * *

 

Allie grumbled to herself as she and her Furfrou sat in the garden. It appeared that things had finally calmed down, and pranksters ceased their efforts. While this was nothing but good news to the spoiled Princess, and in fact cheerfully welcomed it, but she couldn’t help but be cautious. They might still be around, after all, hoping to catch her unawares.

“Like that’s going to work on me. Right, Furfrou?” Allie asked her prized Pokémon. She barked in reply, and Allie smiled. Furfou understood, she always did.

Not like those stupid workers and maids. No, they were just awful. Dreadful, really. She knew how they spoke of her behind her back. How she was conceited, arrogant, spoiled rotten, and cruel. How could she be cruel? The first person to suggest that to her got fired immediately, which shut the others up, but she still heard hushed whispers. She just knew one of them was behind this. Who, exactly, escaped her, but once she was done, there was going to be a reckoning. She was already forming plans on how to do it. Punishing all of the workers until the culprits revealed themselves sounded good.

“Hehheheh,” Allie darkly chuckled to herself, only to be interrupted by a rustling bush. Furfrou immediately went into alert, placing herself between the noise and the Princess. The rustling continued, and Allie began to order an attack, only to stop as a small purplish-grey fox stepped out. She recognized this Pokémon. It was the shiny Fennekin that the girl had.

“Hello, Fennekin,” Allie greeted in a high-pitched voice. “What are you doing here?”

The fox yipped in response and wagged her tail before sitting down. Allie stroked her chin as she contemplated the fire fox’s reply. What did she mean? The Fennekin yipped again and pawed the ground, inching closer to the Princess. At once she understood the fox’s intentions, and she broke out into a smile.

“Did you come back for me?” she asked, overjoyed. The Fennekin happily yipped and put her paws on Allie’s chest, her tail never ceasing to wag back and forth. This was all the proof Allie needed, and she scooped the Fennekin into her arms. “Oh, I’m so happy you finally saw just how much better I am than that annoying rosecrown!” After all, why wouldn’t she be? She was prim, polished, and nobility. Everything that uncouth Louise wasn’t.

Suddenly, the Fennekin jumped out of her arms and ran away. “Hey, come back!” Allie cried out and gave chase. It seemed as though the Fennekin was wanting to play games with her. She would have to train that bad habit out of the Fennekin the first chance she got. Furfrou wasn’t far behind Allie and quickly caught up to her, staying by her side the entire time. They never lost sight of the Fennekin, who seemed to be deliberately holding itself back. As they ran through the forest, they passed through patches of dirt which covered Furfrou’s and Allie’s feet.

“Stop moving!” Allie demanded, increasingly fed up with the Fennekin’s playfulness. Oh, it was definitely going to go. Finally, the Fennekin stopped, making Allie and Furfrou do the same. “Finally. If your going to be with me, we’re going to need to get rid…” Allie stopped as she took note of something odd. Specifically, the Fennekin’s feet was completely clean and untouched. Allie looked back down at her feet, seeing it caked in a fine layer of brown dirt, and a quick look at Furfrou’s showed the same. They had followed the exact path the Fennekin had taken, so why was its feet clean?

“What’s going on?” Allie asked, taking a step back while Furfrou growled and stepped forward. The Fennekin merely yipped in response, but otherwise stayed still. Allie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and tentatively stepped forward. “I said, tell me what is—”

Fennekin suddenly disappeared into thin air, halting Allie in her tracks. “Wha?” she managed to get out before she heard a flutter of wings overhead. Looking up, she saw the tailfeathers of a red bird dart into the trees, but her attention wasn’t on that. It was instead on a hastily woven basket of twigs and leaves tipping precariously overhead. Allie only had time to scream before the basket tipped over completely, ending a shower of berries raining down upon her. They exploded upon impact, sending their sticky juices all over the Princess and Furfrou, tie dying them in a rainbow of colorful splotches and ruining her dress.

“I…I…” Allie unleashed a wordless scream as she took sight of her ruined dress. It was absolutely, irreparably destroyed. Fine Kantoan silk, imported straight from the source, gone in a matter of seconds. She kicked and screamed as she threw a childish tantrum, even after hearing a loud pop from somewhere beyond the forest. She only stopped after several minutes of screaming, making her throat sore.

“…Grrgh,” she let out one final growl then turned away, stomping back towards the palace. She idly noticed none of the workers came toward her, but she paid that no heed. Her attention was focused on someone else. Specifically, she now knew who was responsible for this.

“Furfrou,” she began, “as soon as we get cleaned, they’re going to pay.”

The dog growled in agreement.

* * *

 

“ _Did you see the look on her face?!_ ” Tanuki howled with laughter as he, Aile, and Maindo teleported back into the forest. Above them was a wicker basket filled with every conceivable type of berry along with a very hungry Aile, currently gorging herself on their bounty.

‘ _Priceless,_ ’ Maindo concurred as he set the basket down. Light specks of berry flew out from the basket, and he chuckled to himself. ‘ _Enjoying yourself there, birdy?_ ’

“ _Yes._ ” Aile didn’t even pause, continuing to eat her fill. Maindo chuckled to himself and idly grabbed a red, spiky, spherical berry that Aile was ignoring. Tamato, if he recalled. He never actually had one and started to bring it to his mouth when Tanuki’s laughter redirected his attention.

“ _I mean, she was so mad! First, she was all ‘You want to be my friend?’, then she was ‘Wha?’, then…hahaha!”_ Tanuki couldn’t finish his sentence as he devolved into a laughing heap, with Aile joining in as well.

Maindo chuckled to himself but remained quiet. To be honest, the prank against Aile wasn’t his finest work. It was funny, yes, but mostly because of who it was done to. He was actually slightly disappointed in himself as it wasn’t up to his standards, but he was holding himself back for Tanuki and Aile. They wouldn’t have gone along with his other ideas. Still, they pulled through, and the entire experience was spectacular.

‘ _You know, I might actually miss them a little,_ ’ Maindo mused to himself as he pulled the berry closer to his mouth, only to stop as the other two’s laughter grew louder. After a while, he joined in as well. They continued to laugh for some time, until Maindo heard the sound of crying.

‘ _Geez, you guys laugh weird.’_ He stated, drawing confused looks. _‘You sound like you’re crying._ ’ At once, the laughter ceased completely, but the crying sound was still heard.

“ _That’s…not me…_ ” Tanuki looked towards the direction the crying was coming from. Slowly, they all paled and went stiff.

‘ _Aile,_ ’ Maindo asked, seriousness for once flooding his voice. ‘ _Where, exactly, were our trainers waiting for us?_ ’

“ _…Over there…_ ” Aile shakily pointed her wing forward. Right where the crying was coming from.

A pregnant pause ensued, then immediately the three Pokémon sprinted forwards. Maindo tried to teleport closer, but there was some kind of psychic interference preventing him from doing so. He soldiered on, running as fast as he little legs could take him. Aile released a Tailwind, boosting their speed, but neither she nor Tanuki sped away from Maindo. Something was wrong, and the last thing they wanted was to separate. Finally, bursting through the bushes, they reached the source of the crying and gasped. There, lying in the center of the grove, was a sobbing Espirit, all alone.

“ _Espirit? Espirit, what happened?_ ” Tanuki ran forward and slid on his knees to the crying Ralts.

‘ _Tan…Tanu…Tanuki?_ ’ she barely got out through her sobs.

“ _It’s me. We’re here, all of us._ ” He gestured towards Aile and Maindo, who ran and flew over to her, equally concerned.

 _‘What happened? Where are Saito and Louise?_ ’ Maindo gently asked, a first for him since they met. At once, the sobbing began again.

 _‘I…hic…I tried to stop them!’_ Espirit sobbed. _‘There was just too many…hic!’_

“ _Too many?_ ” Aile asked. “ _Too many of what?”_

‘ _I don’t know… hic … they looked like flying, black letters with eyes. The… The Pokédex called them ‘Unown.’’_

‘ _Unown?’_ Maindo repeated in what almost sounded like fear. He knew of them. Lumiose TV had an interesting special on them. ‘ _What the hell are they doing here?’_

‘ _I don’t know what they were,_ ’ Espirit continued, beginning to calm down somewhat. _‘They just showed up and teleported the others away. I tried my best to shield them, but…’_ Espirit paused, and narrowed her eyes.

“ _Espirit?”_ Tanuki asked in concern.

‘ _Where were you guys?_ ’ she softly asked. A heavy presence began to be felt over all three of the pranksters, and they gulped. ‘ _Tanuki, weren’t you sent to get Maindo? Aile, weren’t you sent to get both of them when they hadn’t come back? So, tell me, why did it take an hour and a half for_ any _of that to actually happen?_ ’ She was met by silence. ‘ _Well?_ ’

“ _…There’s a funny story for that, actually. We—”_ Tanuki wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he was suddenly lifted up and thrown violently back into a tree. A loud thud was heard, and he quickly found himself unable to move his arms or legs. A quick look told him the same happened to Aile and even Maindo, who looked the most surprised at their predicament. They heard footsteps and paled. Turning his head slowly, he saw Espirit slowly stomp over to them, a purplish aura enveloping her.

“ _Espirit, calm down._ ” Aile begged. “ _We can—”_

‘ _Shut. Up._ ’ At Espirit’s tone, Aile did just that. Espirit continued to stare at them, and all three felt a deep probe force its way into their minds. It was deeply uncomfortable, and not even Maindo could stop it, but it quickly receded. Espirit’s face warped into one of disgust and she psychically slapped all three of them.

 _‘Let me get this straight,_ ’ she began, _‘You three decided to stay around at Parfum Palace, despite knowing we were waiting for you, just so you could torment the Princess and satisfy your appetite. Am I right?_ ’ Slowly, all three immobilized Pokémon. Rather than calm her down, this just made her more enraged. ‘ _In doing so, you left us unprotected, so when the Unown arrived, I wasn’t able to do anything, and therefore allowed them to get taken!_ ’ Espirit was shouting now, and the others were sweating bullets.

‘ _Hey, how were we supposed to know th-!_ ’ Maindo tried to defend herself, only for Espirit to zoom into his face. He gulped.

 _‘Had you stayed with us the entire time, we wouldn’t have had to wait for you there! Had you been there, we could have had a better chance at stopping the Unown. So yes, Maindo, it is all of your faults!_ ’ Espirit paused to let it sink in. ‘ _Here’s what we are going to do. You are going to teach me how to Teleport, Maindo. Then, the two us will combine our minds to pinpoint their location and teleport all four us to them. We’ll grab them and teleport out, and if you say anything about doing otherwise, you won’t be able to sit for a week_.’

‘ _Alright, alright! I get it! It’s not like would suggest leaving them to die! What do you take me for, a psychopath?!’_

‘ _Good!_ ’ At once, as if flipping a switch, Espirit’s cheerful personality returned in full force and she released the others from her grip. They fell to the ground hard and panted while Espirit crossed her arms behind her back. ‘ _Maindo, I’ll be waiting for you over there. Tanuki, Aile, gather up some berries that will help to protect us from the Unown’s psychic energy. Okay?_ ’

‘ _Okay!_ ’ Aile and Tanuki quickly answered, struggling to hold back their fear. Espirit smiled and hopped away, never quite leaving their view. As she got farther away, the others let out a sigh of relief.

“ _Did any of you figure she could do that?_ ” Aile asked as she fluttered over to the basket of berries. “ _’Cuz I sure didn’t._ ”

“ _Nope_ ,” Tanuki replied as he concentrated on his Aura, thinking it could be useful in projecting a mental block. “ _Sweet, nurturing and kind? Yes. Scary as hell when she’s angry? No, no I did not think that. She was –”_

_‘Kind of cute?’_

_“— terrifying._ ” Tanuki and Aile stopped as they heard Maindo’s voice, then slowly turned towards him. A faint blush turned his cheeks pink as he stared at Espirit, still walking away. When Maindo noticed the awkward silence, he turned towards the Riolu and Fletchling, who were giving him a strange look.

“ _…Maindo? Do you…?”_ Aile began to ask, and the male Ralts simply raised an eyebrow.

‘ _What, just me then?’_ He blankly stared at them in confusion for a few moments longer before shrugging. He teleported away, reappearing right next to Espirit, who happily clapped her hands together. As she led him away, Aile and Tanuki watched until they were well out of earshot.

“ _… Well, at least now we know he has a type._ ” Aile observed, then got back to sorting the berries.

“ _What? Prim, proper girls that just so happen to have a violent side?_ ”

“ _Yeah, that._ ”

“ _…So, like Saito?_ ” At Tanuki’s question, Aile paused then, after a moment, nodded.

“ _Yeah, aside from being too good for him, that is. Huh, that’s uncanny._ ” They started their work anew, all the while worried their trainers, and praying they would be alright.

* * *

 

“Ugggh,” Louise moaned as consciousness slowly returned to her. It was dark, she was lying on her back, and the ground beneath her was cold, damp, and hard. Her vision slowly came into focus, and the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. She could barely see a few feet in front of her, and the only source of light was that reflecting off of large bluish crystals. It looked like she was in a cave of some kind.

‘ _How did I get here?_ ’ she thought to herself, struggling to remember. It was then that she heard faint breathing to her left. Looking over, she saw it was the body of Saito, who like her previously, appeared to be unconscious. At their feet, she saw the bodies of their starters, and it was then that she remembered.

“Oh, no…” Louise gasped, remembering everything. Maindo not coming back, Tanuki and Aile being sent after him, the Unown. Her eyes widened as she remembered the flying letters. What if they were still around?

“Saito. Saito, get up!” she whispered and quietly pushed him, attempting to rouse him from his unconscious state.

“Five more minutes…” he mumbled, only for Louise to slap him. “Aah!”

“Quiet!” she hissed and covered his mouth. “They might still be here.” Saito looked confused for a moment, not quite sure what she was referring to, only for his eyes to widen in realization. Slowly, and quietly, he nodded, and Louise took her hand off of his mouth.

“Where are we?” Saito whispered, getting onto his knees and crawling over to Ronin. He sighed in relief as he determined their starters were still alive, albeit unconscious.

“Some kind of cave, I don’t know where,” Louise answered back, taking Brennaraki into her arms. Reaching around, she found her wand, and held it in her hand. “Any ideas on how to get out of here?”

Saito hummed to himself and looked around, then nodded. “Our best bet is to find the source of that light. Let’s follow it. Hopefully, it might lead us to a way out.”

“Okay.” Louise nodded. Slowly, the two trainers rose to their feet and began to crouch walk away, careful not to make a sound. They couldn’t hear any Unown, which relieved them immensely, but the two trainers remained on guard. They did, however, return their Pokémon, not wanting them to be put in harms way.

“Do you have any idea why they attacked us?” Saito quietly asked as they rounded a corner.

“No idea,” Louise admitted. “We didn’t even do anything. Maybe we entered their territory?”

“Unown aren’t known to be territorial. They would have just hidden if we were bothering them,” Saito pointed out. Louise pursed her lips and nodded as Saito continued. “What are they even doing here, anyway? They’re not native to Kalos. Something had to attract…” Suddenly, Saito’s eyes widened, and he looked towards Louise’s wand. Louise quickly noticed where he was staring, and paled.

“You don’t think…?”

“It messed with the Beedrillite. Might have attracted those Unown,” Saito pointed out.

“Which means they were likely following us the entire time.” Louise grimly concluded. Saito silently nodded, having reached the same conclusion. They soldiered, carefully checking each corner for Unown, but finding none. The light grew brighter as they scoured the halls, the brightest corridors being the taken routes. A few times, they got turned around, but they managed to find their way back and continue forward. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking, they emerged into a large empty clearing in the cave, a large hole in the ceiling, letting sunlight in.

“Well, found the source. Great…,” Saito sighed. He sincerely doubted they’d be able to get out that way. Louise, on the other hand, began to look around, and quickly noticed something odd about the cave floor. It was covered in a layer of green moss; once she scuffed it away with her foot, she gasped.

“Saito! Over here!” she called out. Quickly, Saito ran over to her. She pointed to the ground and he gasped as well.

“Is that…cobblestone?” He knelt down and brushed his fingers over the smooth stone. It was, and he followed the path it made. It seemed to be leading towards a cave on the far side of the clearing. They looked towards each other and nodded. Following the cobblestone path, they walked into the cave entrance, careful to watch out for any Unown. Slowly but steadily, the cave sloped upward, making each step harder and harder. Finally, the ground began to level out, and they emerged at the base of a large cobblestone tower, embedded in the rock.

“Wow,” Saito breathed out. He certainly hadn’t been expecting this. “What is –?"

Suddenly, and without warning, the swarm of Unown reappeared and surrounded them. Instantly, Saito and Louise were clutching their heads in pain and fell to their knees.

“Grrgh…” Louise growled and grit her teeth, slowly raising her wand at the swarm. “Fi…Fire…Fireball!” A loud explosion rang out over the cave, the sound and shockwave echoing across the cave walls and dispersing the Unown swarm. At the same time, the psychic assault on their minds ceased, and a sense of calm formed in the air. Getting to her feet, Louise placed herself in front of Saito, her wand facing outwards.

“Stay! Back!” she warned, her shaking wand betraying her fear. A single Unown separated from the swarm and edged closer. “I’m warning you! Stay back!” The Unown continued to creep ever closer, and Louise released another explosion that it deftly dodged and kept approaching until they were practically face to face. She was shaking and gulped, as did Saito. Then, suddenly, the Unown seemed to nod to itself and darted over to the tower, the swarm of Unown parting as it passed.

“Wha?” Louise tilted her head.

“ _Unown…Unown…_ ” the Unown around the room chanted. Louise just looked confused, but realization dawned in Saito’s face.

“I think they want us to go into the tower.” He got to his feet and began to walk forward, only for Louise to grasp his arm.

“What? Are you crazy?” she hissed, but Saito stared right back at her.

“Do you have any better ideas?” When she didn’t answer, he freed his arm and continued walking forward. He could hear soft footsteps behind him, and the two trainers walked into the tower. They were greeted by stone stairs leading up and down, and Saito wondered which way to go. That question was answered as a stream of Unown went downstairs.

“Down it is,” he muttered to himself and walked downstairs.

“Hey, wait up!” Louise quickly caught up to him, and they walked further downward. The air was beginning to get heavy with an unknown energy, one that Saito didn’t recognize, but felt strangely familiar to Louise. Finally, they emerged at the bottom and saw a stone pedestal in the center of a large antechamber. A rusted sword rested on it, and the Unown circled it.

“A sword?” Saito walked up to it and began to notice some peculiarities. It was still housed in its sheath, an ornamental design that almost looked runic.

“No,” Louise replied. “It’s a Honedge.”

“A Honedge?” Saito looked at her then pulled out his Pokédex. He winced when he saw there wasn’t any reception, but the scan function at least didn’t require it. Activating it, he scanned the sword to find it was, indeed, a Honedge. One that, according to the scan, was over six thousand years old. “Arceus…”

Louise and Saito continued to stare at the Honedge, unsure of what to do. “Any ideas?” she asked.

“ _Unown…Unown…_ ” the circle of Unown continued to chant, looking down at Louise expectantly.

“I… I think they want you to use your magic on it.” Saito looked at Louise’s wand, and she looked at him, flabbergasted.

“You…you think so?”

“I honestly have no idea, and frankly, I’m just spit balling. Might as well try.” Saito nervously smiled. “Just…don’t blow it up.”

“Geez…” Louise shook her head and took a deep breath. She didn’t like it, but it was the only explanation they had. Nervously, she stepped forward, her wand at the ready and pointed towards the dormant Honedge. At once, all eyes of the Unown were on her, and beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead. She touched her wand to the metal sheath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She reached deep within herself, and the tip of her wand began to brightly glow in a shining white light. Saito threw his arms in front of his eyes, attempting to shield them, until a loud, powerful explosion rang out and threw him and Louise away.

“AAGH!” they screamed from the sudden force before sliding on the ground. The Unown were now swirling, but they couldn’t tell if it was from agitation or something else. Regardless, Saito and Louise slowly crawled back. Louise idly noticed how the psychic effect on their minds was gone, but otherwise observed the swirling mass of letters. Suddenly, the Unown stopped and parted, revealing the now floating Honedge. It slowly rose further into the air, its eyes still closed.

“What the…?” Saito wondered allowed as they continued to stare at the Honedge. Suddenly, the center circle on its hilt opened, revealing a single eye, shaped in a slit. It was only then that Louise recognized the Honedge.

“It’s the same one from the paintings. The one that belonged to the King of Kalos.” Her voice was filled with awe. Of course! The Unown wanted her magic to awaken it! Now she understood! Honedge stared at the two trainers and began to strain itself, and Louise and Saito tensed. Finally, after considerable time and effort, the Honedge freed itself from its rusty sheath, its blade just as rusted as the rest of its body.

“Aaah,” it suddenly sighed out in relief, shocking Saito and Louise into a stunned silence. “Oh, you have _no_ idea how good that feels, let me tell you.”

“Wha?” Louise managed to get out, her mind going blank.

“I mean, seriously,” it continued in what they could determine was a male sounding voice, “it feels _so good_ to finally be able to move again. Try spending centuries stuck in the exact same confined position with only these little shits for company,” he said as he dramatically pointed at the swirling Unown around the room. “And your entire body just gets so _tense_ and you just want to stab _something_!”

“Ho…how are you…?” Saito shakily pointed at the Honedge, who then turned its gaze towards the two trainers.

“What, never seen a talking sword before?” Louise got the feeling that if it could, the Honedge would be giving a confident grin. “I’ll take your stunned silence as a no. Well then, you are in luck.”

“Who…who are you?” Louise asked, her eyes still wide. The Honedge threw his ribbon bac in emphasis, his sheath coming behind him.

“I am the Sword of Heroes! Blade of Kings and Wizards! Partner to Az, Shane, and Brian!” The Honedge announced only to suddenly stop himself. “No, that doesn’t sound right. Burgundy? No, no, that’s not it either. Michel? There was definitely an I in there somewhere…” the Honedge trailed off, muttering to himself as a chorus of what almost sounded like laughter emanated from the small swarm. “Ah shut it, you blasted ink blots! I am the great and mighty Derflinger, and I will not be mocked like this!” The Honedge, apparently Derflinger, said with a threatening flourish, only to have a rock bounce off him and more laughter echo around the chamber.

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!” Derflinger shouted as he threw himself into the swarm. They cried out in mock horror as they dodged his clumsy swings, leaving Louise and Saito behind as they silently gaped at the scene playing out before them.

“…I was not expecting this.” Saito admitted as he eyed the flailing Honedge.

“…Neither was I.” Louise replied with blank eyes. “…Should we try to get out of here?”

“I’m actually morbidly curious as to how this will play out, and I’m pretty sure the Unown are still watching us.” He looked to his left, and sure enough he spotted two Unowns hovering over them. Louise merely crossed her arms and grumbled, inching closer to the boy and away from the flying script.

“HOLD STILL, YOU LITTLE SHITS!” Derflinger continued to swing at the Unown swarm, but the two humans and their starters could tell he was getting tired. Finally, he slowed down and stopped, his breaths shallow and panting. “Alright… Fine… We’ll call it a draw… You’re just lucky that I just woke up or else I…” A heavy silence fell over the crowd as Derflinger suddenly remembered Saito’s and Louise’s presence. He turned towards them with his eye slowly blinking, and flew closer towards them.

“Uh…” Saito nervously got out. “…Hello?”

“What’s up?” Derflinger happily replied. “How you two doing?”

“Um…pretty good, all things considered…”

“The Inkblots are scaring the piss out of ‘ya, aren’t they?”

“Terrified, actually,” Louise answered, eyeing the Unown and scooting closer to Saito. He nodded as well.

“Yeah, sorry about that. They aren’t good with people,” Derflinger replied and turned around towards the swarm. “Hey! Give ‘em some space, will ‘ya! You’re scaring them!” At once the Unown dissipated and flew to the far side of the antechamber, remorseful looks in all of their eyes.

“Thank you.” Saito was still nervously eyeing the Unown swarm, but they didn’t come any closer.

“No problem.” Derflinger lowered himself to eye level, the tip of his blade balancing on the chamber floor. “So, mind telling me exactly what happened?”

* * *

 

‘ _Now, the key to Teleportation is to visualize yourself in one place, then psychically moving there. It’s like walking, only without the walking._ ’ Maindo continued to coach Espirit, who’s face was scrunched from concentration. It was a new experience for the Ralts, teaching another Pokémon to do what he did, but Espirit was picking up on the technique quickly. It wouldn’t be long until they managed to-

He was cut off from his internal musing by a loud pop. Espirit was gone, and she suddenly reappeared next to a surprised Aile, who fell onto her back in shock.

‘ _I did it! I did it!_ ’ Espirit began jumping in joyous celebration, with Tanuki joining in alongside her. Maindo smiled and nodded, but stayed where he was.

‘ _Good job. Keep practicing, I’m going to find the idiots._ ’ Maindo turned away, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes. His mind reached out over the forest, filtering out anything that wasn’t human. That in and of itself wasn’t too hard, humans had a very unique mental signature. Rather than looking at everything all at once, like what Tanuki did at the Parfum Palace, he was instead searching for beacons and scanning that particular area. So far, he found nothing, but he did find some particularly interesting activity around Parfum Palace. Looks like the Princess was organizing a search party. Maindo didn’t care, they would be long gone by then. After a few more minutes of fruitless search, he gave up on trying to find a human signature, and instead began to search for something more distinct. Something he had to repeatedly block off every time he was around her.

‘ _Need some help?_ ’ he heard a soft voice ask him. Not breaking concentration, he recognized Espirit’s voice immediately.

‘ _If you want._ ’ Maindo continued to search. He could hear Espirit sit down beside him, and then felt a pulse of psychic energy emanate from her. In peaceful silence, they continued to search for their kidnapped trainers. Their search extended far past the forest, past the hills, and into the mountains.

‘ _Found them._ ’

* * *

 

“And that’s when the Unown took us here, and then we found you.” Saito concluded.

“Hmm,” Derflinger hummed to himself, his large eye switching back and forth between him and Louise. “Interesting. Very interesting.”

“You call us getting kidnapped by flying letters interesting?” Louise glared at the Honedge, who merely shook his head.

“No, not at all. Frankly, these guys were completely out of line and should not have taken you.” He turned to glare back at the Unown, who all sheepishly looked away. “But, I think I have a fairly good idea on why they did it.”

“Do tell. I would love to hear whatever justification you may hav—”

“It’s because you’re a Void mage, pinky.” Derflinger interrupted Louise, who stared back in stunned silence alongside Saito, Brennaraki, and Ronin.

“Wha…What?”

“I said, you’re a Void mage. You would have to be blind not to notice that pouring off of you. It tends to give off a very distinct energy.”

“Ho…how do you know what Void is?” Louise’s mind was racing at a mile a minute.

“Because I used to be partners with a Void mage and one of his familiars.” Derflinger offhandedly revealed. “What was his name again? Brett? Ian? You’d think after six thousand years, you’d remember a guy’s name, but…”

“Brimir?” Louise breathlessly got out.

“That’s it! That’s the name!” Derflinger pointed his sash at Louise and closed his eye happily. “I remember now! Brimir and Sasha! The first Void Mage and Gandalfr!”

“You knew Brimir!?” Louise’s eyes were as wide as saucers at this point, while Saito’s jaw hung loose. Suddenly, she grew indignant. “And you forgot his name!?”

“It’s been six thousand years, lady! I forget things! And of course I knew him! I was his sword! Well, technically I was Sasha’s sword, but she was his familiar, so by extension—“

“No, no no! There is no way that--!” Saito interrupted, desperately looking between the panicking Void mage and Derflinger, who was now staring at him.

“Boy, I recognize denial when I see it. She already tell you who she is and where she came from?” Slowly, Saito nodded. “She’s telling the truth, kid. We’re from a different world.” All at once, the cold, hard truth Saito had been denying to himself sunk in.

“Oh, Arceus…” He tightly gripped his hair and looked again at Louise, who was now shakily pointing her finger at the Honedge.

“I… I don... I don’t…!” Louise stammered. She had so many questions. How did he get here? What was Brimir like? Was he always a Honedge? But instead of any of those questions being asked, she instead looked like a fish out of water, which caused Derflinger to laugh.

“I can see you have a lot of questions,” he began, “so allow me to—”

Suddenly, a loud pop was heard. The sound echoed in the antechamber, and everyone turned to look at it, and the trainers gasped. At the center of the antechamber, they saw Maindo, Espirit, Aile, and Tanuki standing heroically and looking at their trainers. Espirit was panting, but her face was scrunched up as she glared at both the now slightly agitated Unown and confused Honedge. Aile, on the other hand, looked more nervous than anything, carrying a ring of berries around her neck. The biggest expressions, however, came off of Tanuki and Maindo, who looked furious.

“ _Give me back my trainer, you asshole!_ ” Tanuki roared before launching into a Quick Attack right at Derflinger. “ _AAH_!” he screamed as his palm glowed with a blue aura. His paw made contact with the metal body of Derflinger, only to phase through without effect.

“ _Waagh!_ ” Tanuki fell to the ground with a thump, and silence overcame the antechamber.

‘ _…Tanuki, you dumbass! That wasn’t the plan!_ ’ Maindo slapped his forehead as he charged up a Shadow Ball.

‘ _I feel woozy…_ ’ Espirit suddenly began to sway back and forth before collapsing.

“ _Espirit!_ ” Aile cried out and began to feed her berries.

‘ _Dammit! Do I have to do everything around here!?_ ’ Maindo roared as he launched the Shadow Ball at Derflinger. Before the ghostly ball could impact Derflinger, his body swung out and bisected it. The two halves flew by harmlessly and impacted on opposite ends of the antechamber.

‘ _Wha?_ ’ Maindo got out before the Unown swarmed the interlopers. They were angry, that much was apparent, and they began to charge up attacks of there on. ‘ _Shit._ ’ Maindo braced himself.

“STOP!” Derflinger roared, and at once the Unown ceased. Everyone stared at the Honedge, who silently glared at them all. “Now then, let’s all calm down, and talk about this like rational beings.”

“ _Rational! You kidnapped our trainers!_ ” Tanuki accused, only to be silenced by a glare from the ancient Pokémon.

“ _I_ did no such thing. That was those annoying bastards up there. But since your so worried about it,” he turned towards the swarm. “Guys, mind taking us back to where you got them?”

The Unown all looked at each other for a few moments, coming to a decision. Suddenly, they all heard a pop, and they were back in the forest, exactly where they were originally taken.

“And good riddance to you little bastards!” Derflinger shouted, receiving no answer. He turned back to the surprised and relieved trainers, and nodded. “That’s better. Now, I’m sure you have some—”

“Did you really know Brimir?” Louise began to ramble. “What was he like? What was life like six thousand years ago? Did elves eat little children then, too?” Saito and the other Pokémon all looked horrified at Louise’s question, but she paid them no heed. “How did you get here? Were you always a Honedge? Were—”

“Whoa, whoa, hold your Ponytas!” Derflinger shouted, halting Louise in her tracks. “One question at a time, geez. Yes, I knew Brimir. Like I said, I was his sword. I was not always a Honedge. I got turned into one, and have been for the past six thousand years. I arrived in, is it still Kalos?” Saito and Louise nodded, and Derflinger nodded back. “Right, I arrived in Kalos after that. No, elves did not eat little children. They never have. Where did you even get that information?”

“… Well, it’s what people say,” Louise sheepishly replied. Derflinger rolled his eye.

“Geez, you go away for a couple thousand years and the education system runs right into the gutter. As for how I got here and what Brimir was like… I forget.”

“How could you forget that!? Forget the Founder?” Louise indignantly shouted.

“Hey, you try being dormant for six thousand years and not forgetting anything!”

“Yeah, Louise, people forget stuff.” Saito chastised the exasperated rosette. “Seriously.”

“Really!?”

“Pipe down, pinky. Geez,” Derflinger shook his body.  “I do remember a few things about Brimir though, now that I think about it. Want to hear them?”

“Yes, please!” Louise looked starry-eyed.

“Well, sit down. This one is _quite_ the doozy of a tale.”

[~][~]


	26. Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ancient Honedge Derflinger joins the group while Princess Allie descends on them for revenge.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 6**

**[~][~]**

Allie stood beside herself in solace of her room. She was wearing the last good dress she had, although it was tightly snug around her body. Comes with it being a size too small. The discomfort was ignored, though. She had bigger concerns at the moment concerning a few pests. As she brooded, Allie heard a knock on her door, and she quickly walked over and opened it.

“Did you find them?” she immediately asked, not in the mood for pleasantries. In front of her, Rose awkwardly shuffled her dress and crossed her hands in front of her waist.

“My Lady, Swablu has returned and has spotted Mr. Hiraga and Ms. Valliere,” she announced. Allie’s face blossomed into a wicked smile.

“ _Excellent_. Have my Pokémon ready shortly,” Allie declared then turned around in a huff, leaving the door open. Snow sighed and turned to leave, but a cough from the Princess stopped her in her tracks. “And Rose?”

“… Yes, Princess?”

“You really need to work on who gets allowed into the palace. We’ll be having a discussion after this is over.” Allie waved her hand. “Off you go.”

“Of course, Princess.” Snow bowed and gently closed to door behind her. She walked away silently, leaving the mahogany doors of Allie’s room behind her, fuming and ruffling a crumpled piece of paper in her pocket.

“There won’t _be_ a discussion after,” she grumbled as she found her sister, holding an identical piece of paper in her hands.

* * *

 

“- And the sorcerer declared ‘The Aristocrats’!” Derflinger finished. “That was Brimir’s favorite dirty joke. Ah, gets me every time…”

 A heavy silence hung over the group as everyone stared at the Honedge with blank expressions. Louise’s eye was twitching relentlessly, and a thick vein was bulging on her forehead.

“You… You dirty…perverted…BLASPHEMER!” Louise shrieked. “How DARE you defile the Holy Founder like-!”

“Heh,” she heard a faint chuckle and Louise turned her head sharply. The laugh had come from Saito, who was busy fighting back more chuckles. Soon, his control broke and he collapsed into a fit of uproarious laugher, followed by his Pokémon.

“STOP LAUGHING!” she demanded, only to be met with more laugher.

“Lighten up, lady,” Derflinger laughed. “You wanted to know about Brimir, so I told you about him.”

“I wanted to know about Brimir! His exploits, his personality, his life! Not what…that was!” Louise stomped on the ground. “No, I refuse to believe that the Founder would stoop to such depravity!”

“Well, he did.” Derflinger quickly replied, causing Louise to sputter. “By the way, you keep calling him the Founder. What’s up with that?”

“HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT?!” Louise shrieked even louder than before. Before she could continue to berate the confused Honedge, Saito finally calmed himself and grabbed her shoulder. “LET GO OF ME!”

“Okay, I think its time for someone to sit down for a bit and calm down, okay?” Saito soothed her and led her to a nearby fallen log. At first, she resisted and continued to glare at Derflinger, but she eventually relented and sat down with her arms crossed. “Sorry about that.”

“Bit of a spitfire, ain’t she?”

“Yeah, but she’s not all bad,” Saito shot Louise a smirk, only to be met by an angry glare. “Don’t mind her. It’s just…from what I can tell, this Brimir guy was very important back home. Still wrapping my head around it, to be honest.”

“Eh, don’t think too hard about it. Still confused about the whole ‘Founder’ thing. Mind explain that one to me?”

“Well,” Saito looked to Louise, and judging by the huff and glare she gave off, she was in no mood to answer. “I’m not an expert, but from what Louise told me, Brimir was the guy who made Louise’s home the way it was as well as protect them from…I think the elves? Did I get that right?” They looked back at Louise, who now had a glaring Brennaraki in her arms.

“…You skipped over the finer details,” she finally spoke. “Brimir wasn’t just the first Void mage. From him, everything in Halkegenia was born. He created magic, the royal families are all descended from him, liberated our home of the spirits that threatened us, and from him the magocracy was born. A true prophet of the gods and we owe everything to him.”

“Magocracy?” Derflinger asked, confusion drenching his voice. Louise raised her eyebrow but continued on.

“As decreed by the gods, those who have magic are fit to rule, while those without serve. It’s been that way for the past six thousand years, ever since Brimir-“

“That is the biggest load of bull-crap I’ve ever heard!” Honedge interrupted Louise’s sermon. “Who told you that?”

“Wh… What?” Louise was dumbfounded.

“I may not remember much from back then, but I would certainly remember Brimir being told by the gods that a ‘magocracy’ was the way to go. Hell, the only time I remember meeting a god was when we met Arceus and that…” Derflinger went silent. “Okay, I don’t _exactly_ remember what happened, but it certainly didn’t end with him telling Brimir to rule over the non-magical natives we found in Halkegenia.”

“The commoners were natives?” Saito asked, intrigued by this information. “Louise made it sound like they were always there?”

“No, Brimir’s tribe, the Markey, come from somewhere else. I think they were…fleeing somewhere, but I can’t remember why.” Derflinger tapped the top of his cross-guard with his sash. “What was it? Natural disaster? War? Famine? What ever it was, it was bad. First, they went to Idun, which was already home to the Elves—”

“You meant the Holy Land?” Louise finally spoke up, her curiosity overriding her indignation. “We were taught that Brimir and his people hailed from there until the Elves cruelly and forcibly expelled us with their Firstborne magic, with the First Crusade being done in an attempt to retake our homeland.”

“Well, I wasn’t there for whatever this ‘Crusade’ was, but I do remember that the Elves did kick Brimir and the Markey out.”

“But you don’t remember why?” Louise dryly finished the sword’s sentence, her indignation coming back up.

“Again, six thousand years, give or take a few centuries. Don’t sound so surprised.” Derflinger shook his body.

“Didn’t you want to hear stuff about Brimir’s life, anyway?” Saito pointed out. “Sure, he has gaps in his memory, but its better than nothing, right?”

“What he’s saying is heretical! Were someone to say this, they’d have Inquisitors at their door!”

“You keep talking about this ‘church’,” the Honedge butted back in. “Mind explaining that to me?”

“The Church was founded by Brimir to carry out his will and maintain the proper order in Halkegenia,” Louise irritably explained. “How do you not know this!?”

“…Because Brimir didn’t make any church?” Derflinger looked at Saito then back at a now flabbergasted Louise. “At least not when I was there. Certainly not one that declared him a prophet. Sure, he had a bit of an ego, but not to that extent. Now his _apprentice_ , he was something else. Never liked him. Egomania and ambition never make good bedfellows.”

“Maybe he made the church and raised Brimir up to be a prophet to secure power?” Saito suggested, earning an offended look from Louise while Derflinger’s hilt bobbed up and down.

“Hmm, makes sense. He always did strike me as the type of guy who—”

“THAT’S IT!” Louise shot up to her feet. “I won’t hear any of this anymore! Stop disrespecting the Founder, you stupid sword! Saito, stop encouraging it!” Before any of them could answer, Louise turned around and stomped off in a huff, leaving the two behind.

“…Well, I can tell she’s a handful,” Derflinger observed as Louise’s pink hair disappeared into the foliage.

“Give her some slack. You basically just told her everything she’s known was a lie.” Saito shook his head. “She’ll calm down in a bit. Probably after blowing up a tree or two.”

“She does that? Seems kinda violent.”

“Better than the alternative.”

* * *

 

“ _So,_ ” Tanuki asked as he and the other Pokémon watched Saito and Derflinger continue to converse, “ _what do you think of him?_ ”

‘ _I think he’s…nice?_ ’ Espirit suggested, trying to find the right words to describe the Honedge

“ _You do realize that we were kidnapped because of him, right?_ ” Brennaraki dryly pointed out, causing Espirit to bashfully look down.

‘ _I know but…he_ was _genuine when he apologized for it. As were the Unown, so he’s not all bad._ ’ Espirit started. ‘ _Besides, Derflinger even gave Louise some information about her home. That has to mean something.’_

‘ _Oh come on! You guys can't tell me that you actually believe any of this right?_ ’ Maindo yelled drawing their attention to him, _"You know that he's a ghost, right? He must have found out about her delusions and decided it be funny to mess with her."_

 Brennaraki narrowed her eyes at the outburst. _"If that's the case, how did Derflinger find out about her story in the first place?"_  
  
_‘Easy, he was surrounded by Unown! They simply read her mind and passed the information on to him for laughs.’_  
  
_"Well, how do you explain the explosions then? Those certainly aren't a 'figment' of her imagination."_  
  
_‘I don't know! Maybe she just keeps a load of grenades up her ass and throws them around whenever she's in a bad mood,_ ’ Maindo growled out, _‘And as impossible as that sounds, it's still a better explanation than saying she gained the personal interest of Arceus himself and he took her from another world and dropped her off here!’_

After a short silence with Maindo and Brennaraki glaring at each other, Aile spoke up. “ _Regardless, I feel bad for Louise._ ” Aile turned to look towards the direction Louise had stormed off. “ _First thing she’s seen of home and it turns out to be…him._ ” Everyone turned to look towards Saito and Derflinger once again, still engrossed in their conversation.

“So, Brimir had four Familiars?” Saito asked. The two of them had been talking about a variety of subjects related to Louise’s home, with Derflinger answering whatever questions he could remember the answers to. “Louise told me mages in her country only had one?”

“Yep, he had four,” Derflinger nodded. “The thing is, a Familiar is supposed to serve as the mage’s protector of sorts. Help ‘em out, keep enemies at bay, that sort of stuff. Most spells take only a few seconds to cast, at most maybe a minute. Void spells don’t work like that. Most take _minutes_ of chanting and intense concentration just to have one go off.”

“Which leaves the mage open.”

“Exactly. So, as Brimir was the first Void mage, he needed that much more protection. But, an animal wouldn’t do. He needed a Familiar to be independent, smart, and capable of making its own decisions in order to better protect him while he casted. So, he chose to make his Familiars people.”

“That seems…kind of skiffy.”

“Eh, all the people he did it to were volunteers, but I could see how it could come across like that.” Derflinger acquiesced.

“So, these Void Familiars… Did they have any special abilities or something? To make them stand out?”

“They did, but I can only remember the one I worked with.”

“Gandalfr, right?” Saito remembered.

“That’s the one. The Gandalfr. ‘The Left Hand of God’,” Derflinger nodded once again. “The Gandalfr rune had a special Void enchantment embedded within that gave the Familiar instant mastery of any weapon. You could take a person with absolutely no combat experience, give ‘em the Gandalfr rune and any weapon they pick up is like they’ve been practicing with it for a century.”

“Wow,” Saito breathed in amazement. He and Derflinger continued to converse between themselves while the Pokémon turned their attention away.

“ _He and Saito seem to be getting along,_ ” Ronin observed, his arms crossed as he sat Butterfree style.

‘ _They are,_ ’ Maindo agreed. A heavy silence descended over the group as they continued to watch the two’s conversation. ‘ _I still don’t trust him._ ’

“ _You don’t trust anyone,_ ” Tanuki responded with a glare, ignoring how he concurred with the assessment.

‘ _Oh, I trust a lot of Pokémon,_ ’ Maindo shot back. ‘ _But I don’t trust anyone who thinks it’s funny to feed into the delusions of someone who should be locked up in a psychiatric ward._ ’ He pointed towards Derflinger, ‘ _Just watch. Sooner or later, he’s going to trip up and when he does, I reserve the right to say I told you so._ ’

‘ _But I don’t think they’re lies,_ ’ Espirit softly spoke. ‘ _Not entirely. Much of it he actually doesn’t remember. But others…it’s like he_ wants _to forget but can’t._ ’

At Espirit’s words, everyone turned back towards the Honedge, each wondering just what the Honedge was hiding and trying to forget.

* * *

 

“So, let me get this straight,” Derflinger looked straight at Saito, his eye boring into Saito’s, “you meet up with pinky in the middle of the woods, proceed to beat her up, feel bad, try to help her find this ‘Gym Leader’, she almost gets you killed, and you decide to keep helping her?”

“That’s a very…,” Saito paused, trying to find the right word, “…blunt way of putting it, but yes.”

Derflinger stared silently at the boy, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable at the attention he was receiving. Finally, the Honedge spoke. “And you did this because…?”

“Because she needed the help,” Saito stated without hesitation. Derflinger continued to stare.

“…And nothing else? Nothing at all?”

“…no?” Saito was now fully confused. His confusion increased when Derflinger began to chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, kid.” Derflinger shook his body. “So, mind explaining to me just what this whole ‘Pokémon League’ thing is and why you two are so worked up about it?”

Saito smiled, happy to move the conversation to a more familiar topic. “It’s this big tournament that’s held every year in Kalos, and you—”

“I got that part,” Derflinger interrupted. “What I’m asking is why do you two care so much about what is basically a fancy belt and cup?”

“I…well,” Saito paused and cupped his chin. He hadn’t really thought about it deeply before. After a few moments of silence, he began to speak. “For me, it’s a chance to prove myself. To do something I didn’t have the opportunity to do when I was younger. Most people do a Pokémon journey when they’re ten. I missed that boat by seven years.”

“They wouldn’t let ‘ya?” Derflinger guessed, but Saito shook his head.

“It wasn’t that, we just kept moving. Didn’t stay in one place long enough for me to actually start. I was born in Unova, and spent most of my life there, but due to my father’s job, for the past seven years we’ve had to move constantly from one region to another. I’ve been to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, then finally Unova again, all over the course of seven years. When we finally moved back to Unova, we thought I’d finally have my chance, so I took it, only to have to move again a month after I started.” Saito grew silent. “At that point, I was just done and the first chance I got to continue where I left off, I took it.”

“So, to you, the Pokémon League is a lost opportunity, a chance to experience something you missed out on while your peers left you behind.” Derflinger summarized, and Saito nodded. “What about pinky? Why does she want the belt?”

“Because it’s proof,” a feminine voice rang out, causing Saito and Derflinger to swivel towards the sound. There they saw Louise standing with her arms crossed, her face flat and serious.

“Proof?” Derflinger’s eyelid narrowed. “Proof of what?”

“That I’m not a failure.” Everyone grew silent as Louise spoke. “Winning the League and becoming Champion is the ultimate proof that I’m worth my title. Worth my status as a mage. That is why I will win the Pokémon League.”

Derflinger grew silent, continuing to stare at Louise. “I can understand that. Winning tournaments is always a good way to prove how strong you are.” Louise smiled at Derflinger’s words. “But who exactly are you trying to prove?”

Louise’s smile disappeared. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Are you trying to prove yourself to others, like Arceus, your family, and your classmates who Saito described as jerks, or are you trying to prove something to yourself?”

Louise grew silent as everyone stared at her. Without saying a word, she turned around and walked off. As she walked away, Saito and Derflinger looked at each other.

“I should…probably go after her.” Saito rubbed the back of his neck and began to walk after her, his and her Pokémon following him.

“I think I’ll join you guys,” Derflinger announced, floating up to Saito. He stared at the Honedge then shrugged, not minding his presence. Besides, he liked their little conversations.

* * *

 

“Stupid sword,” Louise grumbled to herself as she stomped through the woods. She could hear the others behind her but paid them no heed. “Who does he think he is, talking to me like that? I need to prove something to myself? _He_ needs to prove something to _himself_ , that’s what’s actually going on.”

“You know we can hear you, right?” she heard Derflinger shout from the back, and she groaned in response.

“Why are you still here?” she demanded, not ceasing her stride.

“’Cuz I want to, that’s why,” Derflinger replied. Once again, Louise could practically see the smirk he would be giving off, and she groaned again.

“That’s not a reason,” she retorted. “Why are you actually here? Really? We woke you up after, what six thousand years? By all accounts, you should want to simply leave and see the world you’ve missed. So why stick around and annoy me?”

Derflinger rolled his eye. “Well, _excuse_ me for finding the first thing from home in roughly six millennia and wanting to stick close to it. I’m a sword, not a golem. I have a feelings, you know, and I get homesick.”

At this, Louise stopped, her back still turned towards the Honedge. She could understand that sentiment. Deep down, she felt the same way, but didn’t want to admit it.

“…Aren’t swords usually not alive at all?” Saito quietly pointed out, causing Derflinger to chuckle.

“I’m a very special sword.” Derflinger’s declaration got a chuckle out of Saito and a roll of the eyes from Louise.

“Well, seeing how we can’t get rid of you,” she said as she turned around towards them, “what’s our next move?”

Derflinger stared at Louise, his eye unblinking. “…I’m not sure I follow…?” Louise groaned and grabbed her face.

“I mean, what—” she stopped mid-sentence. Off in the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of white and blue among a sea of green.

“Louise? Louise, what’s wrong?” Saito asked, coming up towards her.

“I thought I saw something,” she answered, her eyes trained on the spot where she saw it. “Something white and blue. Small.”

“A Pokémon?”

“Maybe.” Saito stared towards the trees. “Maindo, Tanuki, you guys see anything?” He looked towards his Pokémon, who’s eyes were scrunched in concentration. After a while, Tanuki looked up, his eyes wide in surprise, and nodded. “How many?” Images flashed through his head, and after a moment realized they came from Maindo.

“What’d they say?” she asked, and Saito groaned.

“Perfect, just perfect.”

“What? What is it?”

“It’s the Princess.” As soon as the words lift his mouth, the blue and white Pokémon came back into view. It was a small blue bird with while fluffy wings. To Louise, they looked like clouds. Curious, and feeling as though she would need the information, she pulled out her Pokédex.

“What the heck is that?” Derflinger asked, eyeing the strange device.

“ _Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon. Using its cottony wings, Swablus routinely clean themselves and their surroundings from dirt and grime. When its wings get dirty themselves, it will wash them in a stream of freshwater._ ”

“Oh, well that’s neat. Mind scanning me next time? I’m curious as to what it says about me.”

“A Swablu,” Louise muttered, ignoring the sword’s request. A Flying/Normal-type, one that was owned. “If I were a spoiled princess...”

“Then I’d go for the fanciest Pokémon around,” Saito finished her sentence, glaring at the three Pokémon who likely caused their upcoming predicament. Derflinger noticed this and turned towards the three pranksters.

“Just what did you three do?” he asked. Aile let out a mumbled chirp alongside Tanuki’s mumbled bark. “Ha! That sounds hysterical! Really, really _stupid_ , but hysterical.”

“Wait, you can understand them?” Louise asked, and Derflinger looked at her as though she suddenly sprouted a second head.

“Of course, I can understand them. I’m a Honedge, remember?” He rolled his eye while Louise sputtered, then turned towards the Swablu, who was flying away. “Something tells me that she’ll be back with friends. Now, we can do one of two things. One, we can have the Ralts teleport us out, but that would, in effect, be letting her win. Two, we roll out the welcome mat. Is that still a phrase now?”

“It is, and I agree.” Saito nodded. “We’ll try to defuse the situation first, but if she escalates, its better to be prepared. Louise?” The others all turned towards Louise, who was silently glaring at her Pokémon for her ill-conceived notion from before. After a moment, she sighed and nodded.

“Okay.” Louise declared, knowing how this was going to end.

* * *

 

The two trainers sat on a nearby log with the three perpetrators for several minutes in silence. They all knew what was coming, that the Princess was likely not the type to accept an apology for their actions, but it didn’t hurt to try. Finally, they began to hear the sound of footsteps coming towards them and the bushes were parted by the two maid sisters, allowing the Princess to pass through without a single leaf touching her body. Silently, she glared at the two trainers, with them silently standing up in opposition.

“You...two…ingrates!” Allie growled at Saito and Louise. “I let you into my home, and you reward my generosity by having your Pokémon torment me?!”

“Princess Allie,” Louise calmly stated, forcing herself to remain polite, “that was not our doing. Maindo, here, stayed behind for some reason and we sent Tanuki and Aile to get him back. For some reason I cannot possibly fathom,” she glared at the three Pokémon in question, with Aile and Tanuki looking sheepish while Maindo looked unrepentant, “they decided to torment you. I wish to formally extend our sincerest apologies for their actions. They were inexcusable, and recent, subsequent events have convinced them to never do so again.”

“Trust us, they have every reason not to anymore.” Saito nodded, crossing his hands in front of his waist.

“Does it look like I care if you sent them or if they are sorry?!” Allie spat back, her face warped into a smile. “You all crossed me, and _that_ demands retribution! I am here to collect.” Louise and Saito remained silent before sighing in resignation.

“Well, we tried.” She shook her head and steeled herself, as did Saito and the Pokémon next to them. From the trees around them, the other Pokémon and Derflinger made themselves known, all staring at Allie with an intense glare. With an animalistic growl, Allie pulled out Luxury Balls of her own and began to toss them out in quick succession.

“Furfrou! Swablu! Milotic! Arcanine! Honedge! Dratini” Allie yelled as the Pokémon were released from their balls, and Louise and Saito’s eyes narrowed. The Furfrou and Swablu were familiar to them, having already seen the poodle and cottony bird, but the others they had not. The Arcanine was a large orange and black dog, the largest they had ever seen. Smoke billowed out of its mouthing, telling Louise that this was a Fire-type. She would have to leave it to Ronin. The Milotic was a long, slender serpent, covered in radiant scales. It was majestic and beautiful, but now was not the time to marvel at its beauty. She remembered seeing it lounging in the fountain back at the palace, telling her it was a Water-type. Brennaraki could not fight it. Too much of a disadvantage. Like the Milotic, the Dratini was a serpent like creature, only much shorter and covered in blue and white scales, horn like appendages on the sides of its head. They reminded her of a crown, of sorts. She didn’t need to guess what type it was. Back at Sycamore’s lab, the Dratini line was the poster child of Dragon-types. What was most fascinating to her was the Princess’ Honedge. It looked much different than the one she and Saito had met not an hour before. Whereas Derflinger looked like a standard short sword in a sheath, the Princess’ looked like a rapier. Saito had noticed it as well and glanced towards Derflinger.

“Hey, Derf?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of Allie and her Pokémon. “Why does that Honedge look different than you?”

“Honedges can make themselves look like any sword they want, given that they have a strong connection to the form. You can only do it once, though, and it takes a _lot_ of effort,” Derflinger said, causing Allie, the maids, and their Pokémon to recoil and shock. His eye then lidded as he looked at the other Honedge and spoke once again, his voice now much deeper. “I must say, though, I can appreciate the form.” Silence descended on the group as they all stared at Derflinger.

“…Did you just…?” Saito began to say, completely flabbergasted. A faint giggle was then heard, and everyone’s eyes shot towards the other Honedge, who continued to giggle. Saito then looked back at a surprised Derflinger.

“I, uh…I didn’t think this through. I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

“You think?” Louise asked with a bewildered expression. Before Derflinger could respond, Allie began to stomp her feet repeatedly.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it!” she flailed and threw a tantrum. “I did not come here just to have my family’s Honedge get flirted on by some talking piece of rust! Milotic, Water Sport!” At once, Milotic cooed and released a fine mist of water from her body, enveloping everyone in droplets of water. Soon after, both sides rocket towards each other as the battle commenced. Shadow Balls, Air Slashes, and Water Pulses shot forward from the trainer’s Pokémon towards the Princess’, many finding their mark. Brennaraki attempted to fire off an Ember towards the enemy Honedge, only for the fireball to rapidly diminish in strength as it zoomed towards the Steel/Ghost-type, eventually dissipating entirely before it even had the chance to strike.

“ _Damn this water!_ ” she cursed as she realized what the going on. The mist secreted from Milotic was making her Fire-type attacks much weaker. She leapt out of the way from the Milotic’s Water Pulse as it bared down on her, and she narrowed her eyes. “ _Okay, time to try something different._ ” Brennaraki concentrated and shot off a Psybeam towards the Milotic, striking her in the head. The serpent recoiled then glared back at the fox before whipping its tail at her, enveloped in a sheath of water. She leapt over it and fired another Psybeam at the Milotic, who shrieked and charged her.

Above them, Aile and the Swablu engaged in an aerial duel of beaks and wings. They clashed against one another, pecking and slamming their bodies into one another whenever and wherever they could. As they were doing this, Aile was steadily releasing a Tailwind to help her teammates while at the same using Agility to boost her speed even more. Already as fast as she was comfortable going, she turned into a blur as she raced towards the Swablu with Quick Attack. Her body slammed into Swablu beak first, causing the cottony bird to cry out in pain and flutter away. Glaring at the Fletchling, Swablu sang out with Round, creating a shockwave that assaulted Aile’s ears. As Aile writhed in pain, Swablu charged and slammed its body into Aile’s with Take Down, sending her crashing into the floor with a gasp of pain. She struggled to pick herself off her feet, only for Swablu to race back down towards her. Thinking fast, Aile flapped her wings towards the Swablu, creating razors of wind that rocketed towards the surprised Swablu like swords, buffeting its body and sending it crashing to the forest floor.

“ _Oh, sweet! Finally got Razor Wind working!_ ” Aile congratulated herself before releasing yet another barrage towards the downed Swablu. The bird cried out in pain as the Razor Wind struck its body before it managed to flutter away once more. Aile narrowed her eyes as it departed into the canopy.

“ _Oh, you aren’t getting away that easily,_ ” she said as she sped towards the retreating Swablu.

Back on the ground, Espirit and Maindo were tag teaming against the Dratini, their Fairy-types making its Dragon-type attacks useless and Espirit’s Misty Terrain prevent paralysis from its Thunder Wave. Maindo cackled evilly as the blue flames of Dragon Rage washed harmlessly over his small body, charging up a Shadow Ball in the process and launching it towards the Dragon Pokémon. Dratini twisted its body around the sphere, allowing it to pass harmlessly through before she launched her body towards Maindo and wrapped him into a tight coil.

‘ _Get off of me!_ ” he yelled in indignation, beginning to assault her mind with Confusion. Dratini squealed in pain but fought through it, tightening her body around Maindo’s, making him yell in pained alarm and halting the psychic assault. Dratini cooed in relief and continued to squeeze, only for another Confusion to strike her, making her recoil. As she did, Espirit psychically grabbed nearby leaves off the trees, imbuing them with energy, and launched the Magical Leaf towards her. The leaves cut into the Dratini’s body and make her loosen her grip slightly. It was enough for Maindo to finally concentrate enough to Teleport away with a loud pop, reappearing right next to Espirit and joining in on the assault with a Confusion of his own. The Dratini wailed as Espirit teleported atop her head and gently kissed the dragon’s forehead. Pink veins appeared at the point of contact and made it flail even more before she whipped her tail at Espirit, launching her away with a yelp. Maindo helped her up to her feet before attacking the Dratini again, Maindo shooting a Shadow Ball and Espirit releasing a Disarming Voice.

Ronin was currently occupying himself with taking down Arcanine. It appeared that it evolved far to early in its life, as it wasn’t as strong as it should have been. Arcanines, after all, were a strong species, yet this one wasn’t able to launch more than Embers and other simple attacks. If Ronin had to guess, Allie must have gotten the Growlith then immediately used a Fire Stone on it. Coupled with Milotic’s Water Sport from earlier weakening its attacks, the battle was going remarkably well. That wasn’t to say it was going perfectly, as Ronin was quickly reminded as a large paw struck him and sent him flying. He landed on his back then rolled onto his feet, grabbed his scalchop mid-roll, then launched a Razor Wind towards the Arcanine. It struck, making the creature wince briefly before growling. It launched towards Ronin, who dodged while forming a Water Pulse and shooting it into the Arcanine’s body. The water caused it to cry out in pain before it snarled and tried to bite Ronin. Using his scalchop, he kept the snapping jaws away from him and, using it as a wedge, prevented the jaws from closing. He then shot a jet of water into the Fire-type’s mouth, and the Arcanine’s eyes bulged as the Water Gun filled his insides. He roiled and sputtered, gushes of water spewing from his mouth with each hack, until Ronin struck him again with a Razor Shell, sending him to the ground.

Tanuki had launched himself towards Furfou almost immediately, attacking the poodle with a glowing paws of steel and Aura. Each strike hit true against the Normal-type, rocking her body back in forth. Furfrou jumped back and kicked dirt into the Riolu’s eyes, forcing him to stop his assault as he attempted to remove the obstruction. Seeing its chance, Furfrou tackled Tanuki to the ground, biting him in the arm and hoisting him into the air, intending to slam him back onto the ground. Instead, Tanuki twisted himself as Furfrou swung downward, landing on his feet, his arm still held in Furfrou’s jaws. Surprised, Furfrou bit down again, only for Tanuki to glow red just as the jaws clamped down. Furfrou was suddenly launched back as it received the force of the bite instead of Tanuki. Taking advantage of this respite, Tanuki sped towards the poodle with Quick Attack, striking his opponent then immediately moving to a series of punches and kicks, ending with one final Meteor Mash that launched Furfrou into a nearby tree, cracking it. The poodle slumped and did not get back up. He smirked then moved to join Brennaraki against the Milotic, intercepting a Water Pulse and allowing the fire fox to launch another Psybeam.

“Furfrou!” Allie shouted in alarm as she saw her Pokémon get defeated. She then glared at Saito and Louise, who were busy issuing commands to their various Pokémon. She grit her teeth as she realized similar events were playing around the battlefield. Her Pokémon were all being beaten back, Saito and Louise’s Pokémon being much better trained. She turned towards Rose and Snow with a snarl.

“Don’t just stand there!” she shouted. “Attack them!”

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, and now’s a good a time as any.” Snow smiled and pulled out a piece of paper, as did Rose. “We quit.”

“WHAT!?” Allie shouted indignantly as the two maids bowed one final time and walked away.

“Have fun getting your ass kicked!” Snow called out as she walked away, Rose silently extending a middle finger towards the Princess as they disappeared into the underbrush.

“Why those little-!” Allie sputtered.

“That’s why you treat the help nice,” Louise called out, a confident smirk on her face. “Otherwise, that happens, and good help is hard to come by.”

“Shut up!” Allie shouted back, her face flushed with rage and embarrassment. Things were not going to plan at all. A clash of metal on metal then attracted her attention. She turned towards the sound and saw the two Honedges dueling, and she smirked.

“I hope your Honedge can stand up to mine,” she laughed. “She’s been in our family for generations! Nothing has been able to beat her!”

“Oh, is that so?” Derflinger asked as she parried the rapier’s stab. “Well, I can certainly see her skill in grace in her movements. They are a sight to behold.”

“ _Oh, monsieur Derflinger, you are too kind_ ,” Honedge giggled as she slashed towards him yet again. “ _I must say, though, it has been quite some time since I’ve had such a good fight. Not since my bout with my former master, Jean Pierre, have I witness such skill. Still, it is no match for moi_.”

“He must have been skilled,” Derflinger responded as he swung downward at the other Honedge, who nimbly dodged. “He taught you well.”

“ _He was a great fencer, and a great friend._ ” She sighed in remembrance as her body began to glow and chime. “ _Come on!_ ” she cried as she began to move once again, her movements much faster than before, yet at the same time less weighty.

“Automatize,” Derflinger mused to himself as he parried another stab. His eye narrowed as the other Honedge launched into a series of rapid strikes, forcing him on the backfoot and forcing him back. He couldn’t help but internally smile, though. This battle was enjoyable, and he could see why the kids liked it so much. Really got the blood pumping.

“I see you’re a speed fighter,” he said as he took another hit, slashing at her as he did. “Personally, I’m a heavy hitter.” He slashed once more at his opponent, her lowered mass making the strike hit much harder than before. She flew back before readjusting, her eye staring into his.

“ _Well then, allow me to even the scales._ ” She flew into a Swords Dance, her blade sharpening as she went. Derflinger narrowed his eyes before doing the same, bits of rust flaking off of him as he did. As they finished, they launched back towards one another, metal striking metal and sending off sparks with each strike. Derflinger winced with each blow, but a quick look told him that his strikes were affecting his opponent much more than hers was to him. He was winning.

“Well, Honedge, I must say that I’ve enjoyed our fight,” parried another blow and struck her handle, spinning her in space, “but I’m afraid it must now end.” He then cleaved downward, sending her crashing into the ground with a small crater and a cloud of dust. As the dust settled and cleared, Derflinger saw her eye had closed. She was done.

“No, NO!” Allie screeched and grabbed tufts of her hair. All around her, her Pokémon began to fall one by one. Swablu crashed into the ground as Aile fluttered overhead, Milotic slumped down as Tanuki and Brennaraki tag-teamed her, Dratini being sent flying into a tree from the two Fairy-types’ assault. A final Water Pulse knocked Arcanine onto his side and he did not get back up. With that, she done, and her Pokémon were all defeated.

“Yes!” Louise and Saito cheered and congratulated their Pokémon at a job well done.

“You…you…” she sputtered, tears building in her eyes. “WAAGH!” she collapsed onto her legs and began to wail, tears running down her cheeks as she cried and stopping the other’s jubilation. They looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to do and growing increasingly uncomfortable with her cries. Finally, Louise stood straighter and marched over.

“Hey,” she began, halting Allie’s wails. “Is that any way for a Princess to act? Your supposed to be dignified and regal, not acting like a spoiled child.”

“But—”

“No,” Louise interrupted, continuing to lecture. “A Princess is regal. She does not lower herself to acting like this. She is supposed to be above national standards, not so far below them that she debases the entire institution of nobility. You are a noble, so start acting like it.”

Without saying another word, she turned and walked back to her Pokémon. “Espirit, before we leave, please heal all of her Pokémon.”

“You sure about that?” Saito asked with a raised eyebrow. “She did attack us.”

“I know. But this is how nobility is supposed to act.” She looked back down onto Espirit, not noticing Derflinger’s approving nod.

“Well, I suppose she’s not entirely helpless,” he murmured to himself before noticing the other Honedge slowly begin to rise into the air. “Need some help there?”

“ _No thank you, monsieur. I am more than capable of floating on my own power_ ,” she relied and steadily rose before stopping, noticeably lower than before. “ _I must say, I haven’t had a fight like that in eighty years. Not since I helped the king in the Great War._ ”

“I’m glad to have provided you with a challenge, then,” Derflinger said. “Now that we aren’t trying to beat each other up, I have to ask. I don’t think I caught your name. Ms.?”

 _“Requiem_ ,” the Honedge responded. “ _It was the name of Monsieur Pierre’s sword long ago. I took it after…after he died a hundred and sixty years ago, now._ ”

“I’m sorry. It always hurts to lose a partner.”

“ _You know that feeling well, don’t you?_ ” Requiem looked at him, seeing the pain in his eye. “ _Still, he went out as a hero, as he always was. Stopped a group of people from controlling Groudon. They were trying to expand the landmass of their kingdom, not caring or knowing about the destruction they would have wrought. We stopped them, but he died in the process of saving countless lives, both human and Pokémon._ ”

“A life is the most precious thing in the world. At least he gave his in the defense of others.” Derflinger grew silent again as he looked upon the two trainers heal their Pokémon, while Espirit continued to heal their opponents. Requiem gazed upon them as well.

“ _You sense it too, don’t you? The feeling that important events will swirl around them?_ ”

“…Yes. Yes I do.”

“ _You know that many such events are likely to be dangerous? Life threatening, in some cases?”_

“I know.”

“ _Is that why you are going to stay with them, rather than rejoin the royal family you served alongside all those years ago?_ ” Derflinger looked at her, puzzled, and she giggled. “ _I recognized you from the paintings on the palace walls. You have a very distinct look and aura about you. Very regal._ ”

“Thank you. You yourself as poised as ever,” he flirted back, making her giggle. “But, I’m sure that the Kalos family is more than protected behind your capable eye and blade.”

“ _I suppose you are right,_ ” she admitted then flew back over to Allie. “ _I appreciate getting to know you, Monsieur Derflinger. May we meet again, under more pleasant circumstances._ ”

“Likewise,” he nodded back towards her then flew to Louise and Saito. They all looked at each other then left, leaving Allie behind with her Pokémon without saying a word.

* * *

 

“So, I’ve been giving it some thought,” Derflinger began as they all walked towards Camphrier, “and I’ve decided that sticking around you guys is the best bet. After all, I do want to see the region I’ve missed out on for the past six thousand years, and since you guys seem intent on doing just that, I might as well join in.”

“Sure!” Saito smiled. “We’d be happy to have you!”

“Ugggh,” Louise groaned. “Fine. If you two are insistent in him staying, you two can be on the same team. I’m not wasting one of my slots on him.”

“Well, aren’t you just cheery.” Derflinger laughed. “Besides, I wasn’t going to ask you, anyway.”

“WHAT?!”

“I served the Gandalfr, not the Void Mage. The partner to the Void mage, if you will. Since it is obvious that you aren’t going to have a familiar, lest you risk Arceus’ wrath, that means that I have to do the next best thing. Saito, you are that next best thing.”

“…Thank you?”

“You are welcome. Now, tell me, how does this work exactly?”

* * *

 

Elsewhere, the sun was setting on a very different scene. Elizabeth slowly strode into a clearing a short distance off of Route 5 and collapsed against a tree, exhausted. She had risen before the dawn to pack the food for the next few days and to say goodbye to the few people who would actually care; then she was off, moving at a brisk clip that she would hold for most of the eight hours it took for her to get here.

“Well, I certainly picked the wrong outfit this morning,” Elizabeth said to no one in particular as she observed her sweat-soaked attire. That the teal shift and white skirt were ill-suited to the current weather was obvious, and the fact that every single one of the outfits Elizabeth had packed was just as poorly suited–if not worse–only made it clearer how rushed the whole affair was. And all that was without mentioning the sad condition her hair and makeup were in.

With a sigh, Elizabeth pulled her rucksack off her back and reached inside, quickly withdrawing a trio of Pokéballs and opened them. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her team, plus one, materializing in front of her. Whatever else she might have done, Elizabeth hadn’t lied to Saito when she had said that journeys were best experienced with friends, and she couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t brought them out earlier in her trip. Eevee’s flat gaze and subsequent sneeze of disapproval reminded the verdette exactly why she had refrained until now.

Refusing to let the dismissal get to her, Elizabeth stood up and began speaking in the most jovial tone she could manage. “Machamp, why don’t you go collect some firewood? Eevee, you can help me set up the tent, just like we did when we were both younger.” Eevee huffed and turned away.

“Well, fine! I can just teach Zorua how we used to do it!” Elizabeth huffed, clearly hurt by the rejection. Eevee didn’t bother replying.

While the tent was little more than a canvas sheet draped over a rope, the two only barely managed to set it up by the time Machamp returned. With his help, they quickly built a campfire and a tripod, and Elizabeth went to work making their dinner. While it had been years since she had last cooked, the verdette had made a point of memorizing several easy campfire recipes when she was nine, mainly because she thought she would be venturing out into the world on her next birthday. The smell of cooking soup eventually drew Eevee over, and the four shared a meal in quiet contentment.

Elizabeth set her bowl aside and sighed wistfully. “It wasn’t my best work, but I guess it was pretty good for being the first thing I cooked in nearly eight years. I guess there are just some things you never… quite… forget…” she trailed off, staring at her left hand.

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur for Elizabeth, until she found herself sitting alone by the dying campfire, heating spindles in the embers before wrapping her locks around them. Everyone else had already gone to bed by that point, so she kicked some dirt into the firepit and just sat there for a while, taking in the stars as they passed overhead and wondering just what the future would bring.

[~][~]


	27. Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parfum Palace now officially behind them, Saito and Louise continue their journey towards the city of Cyllage, eventually coming upon an interesting detour.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 1**

[~][~]

“I’m not getting in that thing,” Derflinger declared at Saito’s outstretched Pokéball.

“Look,” he awkwardly began, “I know that it looks weird, but—”

“Don’t care. You are _not_ making me get into that little ball.” Derflinger’s tone was final, and Saito sighed. They had been at this song and dance for the past half hour. At first, Saito and Derflinger were excited to officially join each other’s teams, at the possibility of working together in battle. Then Saito pulled out a Pokéball, and that excitement evaporated instantly.

“Really, it’s not that bad! All the other Pokémon do it!” Saito gestured towards his team.

“ _It’s really not that bad,_ ” Tanuki smiled and nodded. “ _Kinda cozy, actually._ ”

“ _I find it to be a perfect respite, myself,_ ” Ronin added.

“ _It’s cold, dark, and cramped. Every moment inside is a living hell,_ ” Maindo dryly stated, earning sharp glares from the others. Maindo merely smirked at the attention, and Saito rolled his eyes. He might not be able to understand the Ralts, but he could read his Pokémon’s body language.

“It’s not that I think it will be uncomfortable, it’s the principle of the damn thing!” Derflinger suddenly shouted, silencing everyone. “You spend the past six thousand years asleep, unable to move, and see how willing you’d be to sit in that tiny thing!”

Saito sighed and put the Pokéball away. If he was being honest with himself, he could understand where Derflinger was coming from. Ever since the first Pokéball was made after the Great War, considerable debate had been waged over the ethicality of their use. Most said they were perfectly harmless, while others felt they were inhumane and cruel. In the end, after decades of study, research, and a number of discussions with telepathic Pokémon, Pokéballs were found to be totally harmless to their occupants, just so long as they weren’t left inside for an excessively long time. Granted, that was after several innovations were added to make it more humane and comfortable for the occupant. In the end, the innovations worked and the use of Pokéballs became accepted. Now, only fanatics like Team Plasma and PETP really spoke up about it.

Still, he knew that not all Pokémon liked their Pokéball. Whether it be a sense of constricted movement or desire for the open air, it wasn’t for everyone. One of the first things he did after catching his Pokémon was ask whether or not they wanted to stay inside it or not. While Maindo just scoffed in indifference, Ronin and Tanuki both expressed no displeasure. But if Derflinger didn’t want to go into the ball, he wasn’t going to push the issue.

“Okay, okay,” Saito said. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I won’t force you to do something you don’t want.”

“Damn right you won’t.” Derflinger huffed. “Not like you could force me into one, anyway. I’m still willing to travel with you guys, just…not in one of those things. Not yet, at least. Want to enjoy my freedom for a bit, ‘ya know?”

“I understand completely.” Saito smiled. He and Derflinger nodded at each other then walked over to Louse, currently sitting on a log and brushing her Pokémon.

“So, did you two figure it out?” she asked, continuing to brush Brennaraki’s fur.

“We did,” Saito replied. “Derflinger is going to stick around with us but he’s not officially joining my team yet.”

“Joy…” Louise groaned.

“Hey, chin up, lass! Now, whenever I remember ‘em, I can tell you even more about our home!”

“Yay…”

“In fact, one is coming to me right now involving a noble lady’s huge tracts of land and the knight who saved her with his great, long sword.” Saito could hear the smile Derflinger would be having and shook his head, a slight smirk on his face as Louise started to turn a bright shade of red.

“Derf, stop teasing her,” he lightly chastised the Honedge, who rolled his eye. “Now then, let’s figure out the more important things. Louise, can you pull up the map?”

“On it.” Louise stopped brushing Brennaraki, earning a whine of displeasure from the Fennekin, and pulled out her Pokédex. After a short boot up, the screen filled with a map of Kalos, their position marked by a red dot on Palais Lane.

“Wow, so that thing is an encyclopedia _and_ a map! That is cool!” Derflinger gazed upon the device in awe.

“And useful.” Louise let out a smirk. “According to the map, the next gym is in Cyllage City. It’s a coastal mountain town right…here.” Louise pointed to the city and everyone’s eyes followed her finger.

“Hmm, according to this,” Saito hummed, “the fastest route is through Connecting Cave, which we can get to by taking Riviere Line.”

“Ugggh, do we _have_ to go through a cave?” Louise whined, and Saito patted her shoulder.

“Well, we could take Route 8U and stop off in Ambrette Town. We can then take 8L to Cyllage. It will take us around the cave, so we won’t have to buy repels or travel through the night to avoid the Zubats. But, doing this would add a few more weeks to the trip.”

“Oh, Zubats were the _worst_!” Derflinger called out. “Always with the biting and swooping and chirping! And there are so many of them!” The Honedge shivered and Saito patted his guard.

“There, there. It’ll be fine.” Saito stood up alongside Louise, who deactivated her Pokédex and pocketed it. “Let’s see how expensive repels are in town before we decide.” They returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs and, together with Derflinger, began to hike down to Camphrier once more.

* * *

 

The trio had been walking for quite some time when they heard some commotion come from up the road. They continued walking towards it, curiosity on their faces as they wondered who was making the ruckus. Finally, they came across a man wearing sunglasses and wearing a lab coat, a Pidove on his shoulder. Something about him seemed familiar, yet his name escaped the trainers. He, however, seemed to recognize the two as and he turned, smiled, and waved.

"Well, fancy meeting you two here!" The group paused as a vaguely familiar figure called out to them. Saito narrowed his eyes in concentration, trying to place where he had seen the man before.

"Nathan, right?" he said after a few moments.

"The one and only!" Nathan responded with a grin before his expression turned thoughtful. "What are you two doing up here, anyway? Did you get lost and accidentally take Route 6 instead of 7?

"That's... A long story." Louise sighed in exasperation. "What about you? We’re quite a ways from Lumiose City."

"Sycamore heard the Pokémon in the area were acting weird and he asked me to investigate since I was nearby." He answered with a shrug and turned to Saito, "Did you happen to run into anything weird that might explain what’s going on?"

The pair shared a quick glance and silently decided to share a condensed version of events while Derflinger remained silent. "Well, we did see a few Unown around here. They might have done something."

"Unown?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Are you sure? They're not native to Kalos and there aren't any ruins nearby." Derflinger could feel the man’s gaze briefly wash over him but it disappeared as soon as it was felt.

"Absolutely, unless there are any other Pokémon that are black, shaped like letters, and have a single large eye." Louise clarified then shivered. Nathan looked at her, cupping his chin as he hummed in thought.

"Well, that certainly sounds like Unown. I wonder what they are doing here," Nathan trailed off in thought before shrugging and moved to continue on the path. "In any case, I'll see if I can spot a few before I head back. You two be careful."

“We will. Thank you, Nathan.” Saito smiled.

“Please say hi to Professor Sycamore for me the next time you see him,” Louise politely asked. “I still haven’t gotten the phone function to work properly.”

“You know I can help you with that, right?” Saito chuckled as he and his companion began to walk away.

“And I told you, I can figure it out myself!” She barked back, making Saito chuckle. Nathan watched them leave then continued up the road. He continued until he was well out of earshot before he spoke up again.

"So, you buying that story?" A soft chirp sounded from the small bird on his shoulder. "Yeah, me neither. What cell do you think she's with? We would know if she was from Dendemille, so that's out." The Pidove replied with a series of chirps as he moved to his arm. "Hmm, didn't even think about her being a leftover of Santalune. Would certainly explain the Beedrill."

The pair continued walking in silence for a while before the Pidove squeaked a question out, to which Nathan sighed. "You know the boss would have our heads if we directly confront her, we can't afford any more mistakes at this point. We’re on thin ice as it is." He reached over and started kneading the small Pokémon as it gave him a questioning squeak. "Well, at the very least he would have my head, not quite sure what he would do with you."

Stopping on the path Nathan held his arm out as the bird stood at attention, "Follow them and see if they meet up with any of our friends, I'll make sure Maxwell's not trying to screw us with a fast one out here." The bird squawked out a concerned reply, "Don't worry about me, you know I can take care of myself. Now go, we'll meet up at the Pokémon Center in four hours." With one more squawk in confirmation, the bird took off with a gust of wind leaving Nathan alone in the slowly dimming forest.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long after leaving Nathan behind that Saito and Louise reentered Camphrier Town’s city limits. They received a few odd looks from people as they walked towards the PokéMart with a open Honedge floating besides them, but most simply shrugged and moved on. To Louise’s relief, Derflinger seemed to be quiet with others around them, giving her a sense of peace.

“Hey, Derf?” Saito asked, breaking Louise’s peace with reckless abandon. “You know you can talk around more than just us, right?”

“I know, but I found it to be easier _not_ to talk when so many people are around,” Derflinger responded, causing Louise to groan in irritation. “They tend to stare, just like those people are doing right now.” He pointed his sash to a group of gawking restaurateurs, their meals left unattended. “That’s right, I see what you’re doing.”

“Uhh,” one of the restauranteurs began, “don’t mind us. Just…taking it in…” he remained silent and rubbed his eyes.

“Holy crap, a talking Pokémon…” another softly murmured. The others had taken out their cell phones and were beginning to record videos when the trio awkwardly began walking away, leaving the restaurateurs behind.

“Okay, point taken. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to,” Saito finally said.

“Actually, their reaction was a lot better than what I was expecting. Back then, they would have cried out “Witch!” and tried to burn me.”

“That’s sounds messed up.”

“It was. Luckily, King Kalos put a stop to that. He was a good man.”

They continued to walk through the Camphrier streets until they finally arrived in front of the PokéMart. Derflinger elected to stay outside and wait for them while the two trainers shopped around. Once inside, the two separated, each looking for the different supplies they would need. Louise had already grabbed a few items before stopping in the equipment isle, specifically in front of the cave diving selection.

“Hmm,” Louise hummed to herself as she browsed the various repels, ropes, and other cave diving equipment. Her eyes immediately gravitated towards the more expensive selections, but she tore her gaze away from them. She would not fall for this place’s tricks again. She grabbed a hardhat with a flashlight attached to the top and tuned it over, appraising it through every angle.

“This could be useful,” she murmured and tried it on. It fit, although it was a tad uncomfortable and it rolled around on the top of her head.

“I would recommend the headlamp rather than the hardhat,” a man’s voice suddenly spoke from behind her, causing Louise to jump in surprise. She turned around to see a man clad in an Alolan shirt chuckling to himself. He had green hair and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes, a set of blue jeans and a white shirt completing the outfit. A camera was wrapped around his chest on a band, telling Louise that he must have been a tourist.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, and Louise shook her head.

“No, it is quite alright. You startled me, is all.” She turned back to the items in front of her, cupping her chin. “You say the headlamps are better? How?”

“I know from experience. Unless you are mining or in construction, a hardhat will only encumber you. For simply going into a cave or climbing a mountain, most of the time a headlamp will be more than sufficient.” He answered and directed her to a particular red headlamp. “This brand in particular is high quality and low price, perfect for a budget minded trainer.”

“Really?” Louise took the headlamp and looked over. She liked to think that she had an eye for quality, and from what she could see it was of a good caliber. The body was made of a shiny, durable metal, aluminum if Louise had to guess, with a bright, rounded-rectangular bulb in the center. Two straps, one going up the top, allowed her to snugly fit it upon her head. She tested it, moved her head around in swivels and side to side, noticing how it didn’t sway. Satisfied, she removed the headlamp and turned back to the tourist, a faint smile on her face.

“Thank you, this is perfect,” she said as she grabbed a blue model of the same brand.

“No problem, miss. Happy to help,” he nodded then turned and walked away.

“Wait, I didn’t get your name!” Louise called after him, but he continued to walk away and outside the sliding glass doors. She frowned and debated going after him, but shook her head and decided against it. She quickly gathered a few more items then walked through the store to find Saito placing a few more repels into his shopping cart. He noticed Louise and nodded towards her as she walked towards him, her items tucked away in a small, handheld basket.

“So, find anything useful?” he asked, helping to place her items into his cart.

“Some more food, water, Pokémon food, something called an Escape Rope, and some headlamps.” She held out the items in question and handed Saito the blue one. He looked it over and hummed to himself before nodding.

“Good find,” he said. “These will definitely be useful. Where’d you find them?”

“Over in the equipment isle. At first, I was going to get a hardhat with lamps on them, but an Alolan tourist convinced me to get these, instead.”

“Smart choice, and that was nice of him. What was his name?”

“I don’t know, he left before I could ask,” Louise admitted with a regretful tone then sighed. “What’s done is done. Let’s go ahead and pay for all this then get on the road.”

“Hold on,” Saito said just as Louise began to push the cart away. With narrow eyes, he pulled out a large and colorful plastic bag, a wide assortment of candies and sweets emblazing the bag. “Really? Sweets?”

Louise stared at him, her face turning red from embarrassment before she turned away with a huff. “I’m allowed to indulge myself. Today has been hard.”

“ _Ten pounds_ worth of indulgence?” he asked pointedly as he continued to dig through more of her bags, each one he opened causing Louise to grow redder and redder.

“Sh-shut up!” Louise stammered, and Saito continued to stare at her. After a while, she looked down in embarrassment and tapped her fingers together. “Okay, so _maybe_ I went a little overboard, but come on! I love Kalosian sweets! There’s so much variety here, and I couldn’t decide on which one!”

“I understand that, but there is such a thing as going overboard,” Saito said as he began taking a few of the bags away. “We’re only getting one. There’s no reason to get any more.”

“But—” Louise began to protest, but Saito’s glare stopped her in her tracks. “Fine,” she grumbled and turned around. Saito smiled, patted her shoulder, and after putting away most of the bags, they both walked towards the counter. They paid, with them splitting the cost, then headed back outside where Derflinger waited for them.

“We got what we need, Derf,” Saito said and the Honedge nodded. Together, the trio began walking towards the eastern edge of the city, hoping to get some decent headway before nightfall, neither of them noticing a green haired woman enter the PokéMart behind them.

* * *

 

“Geez, you have gone to _town_ on those things,” Saito said as he and Derflinger stared at Louise with a mixture of awe and disgust.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Louise replied as she ate another handful of chocolate. The bag was already a quarter empty after only two hours of walking, and she showed no signs of abating anytime soon. She reached her hand into the bag yet again for a snack, only for Saito to shake his head and grab her hand.

“I think you’ve had enough,” he declared as he tried to take the bag away. In response, Louise gripped the bag tightly and turned away from him, ripping the bag away from Saito’s hands.

“No! This is mine!” she shouted and ran off, kicking up small clouds of dust with her footsteps and throwing handfuls of candy into her mouth with each step.

“For Arceus’ sake…” Saito shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips and ran after her, leaving Derflinger behind. He silently stared and watched the trainers dance around each other, Louise continuing to inhale sweets while Saito swiped at the bag, trying to take it from her.

“…I sleep for six thousand years, and this is what flirting turns into.” Derflinger sighed and shook his body. He continued to watch as Saito finally caught up to the rosecrown, who let out a victorious yell as he hefted the bag above his head and out of Louise’s reach.

“Give it back!” She jumped and reached for the bag of sweets, only for Saito to laugh and keep it away. “Saito!”

Derflinger chuckled. “Kids.” Deciding that enough was enough, he floated over to the squabbling trainers and took the bag from Saito’s hands.

“What the-?” Saito looked at Derflinger while Louise puffed her cheeks in cute anger.

“Alright, kids, Papa Derf says that’s enough. We can play later.” Louise moved to protest but decided against it. She sighed then nodded her head.

“Fine, okay,” she grumbled and rubbed her forearm. “…Sorry for getting…carried away.”

Saito rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly grinned. “Yeah, I’m sorry, too.”

The two trainers looked at each other then at Derflinger, faint smiles on both of their faces. If Derflinger had a mouth, he’d be smirking at that moment. Since he didn’t, he settled on chuckling.

“Come on, you two. Let’s get going. If we’re lucky, we’ll manage to get a few more miles before sundown.” The trio began to walk again while Louise pulled out her Pokédex.

“Let me check the map real quick…” she hummed to herself as she pulled out the map. Zooming in on Rivière Lane, she pulled out a more detailed map of the route. The route itself seemed to be a straight shot through the countryside, with no towns between them and Connecting Cave. There were three distinct landmarks that caught her attention. On the far end of the route was someplace called the Battle Chateau, a battle arena in a mansion, if she had to guess. Closer to Camphrier was a berry plantation called Berry Fields, but she didn’t focus on either of those. Instead, she focused on something much closer.”

“Saito, look at this,” she called out to Saito and handed him her Pokédex. He looked the map over and quickly saw what she was referring to.

“Huh, there’s a Daycare not that far from here.” He tapped his chin. “You do know what a Daycare is, right?”

“Yes, actually. Professor Sycamore explained them to me.” Louise smiled proudly.

“Well I don’t,” Derflinger interjected. “Mind explaining the concept to this old ‘mon?”

“A Daycare is a place where trainers can keep their Pokémon that aren’t in use,” Louise explained with her finger pointed upward. “While most trainers simply have their extra Pokémon go to where they started, whether it be with the regional professor or their families, at a Daycare, a Pokémon can actually undergo more specialized training than they may be able to do elsewhere. In addition to keeping the Pokémon happy and healthy, the breeders at these Daycares serve as both trainers and healthcare specialists, helping to ensure that the Pokémon keep up with their training for when they are called back onto the field.

“At the same time, Daycares can also obtain a League certification for Pokémon Breeding. Due to the large amount of Pokémon that they have on hand, breeding inevitably occurs. Daycares can then either give or sell these eggs to different trainers, professors, or a variety of different organizations. It’s how they get their money, actually. A combination of trainer fees and the legal egg trade.”

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Derflinger closed his eyes and nodded. “I take it you want to check it out?”

“Yes, actually.” Louise nodded and Saito hummed in thought.

“Well, it is on the way,” he pointed out. “Plus, we might be able to spend the night there. I, for one, would much rather sleep on a bed or couch than in a sleeping bag.” Louise nodded in agreement then looked at Derflinger.

“I see no problem with it,” he said, moving his body in a way that looked like shrugging. “And, like you, I’m curious as well.”

“Then it’s decided.” Louise smiled. “We’ll go to the Rivière Daycare, check it out, and spend the night. It’ll be fun!”

[~][~]


	28. Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise and Saito arrive at the Riviere Daycare, only to run into an old rival. At the same time, dark forces amass, preparing to plunge the center into chaos.

**Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)**

**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 2**

[~][~]

“Oooh,” Louise groaned as she laid on her knees, on hand keeping her propped off the ground while the other clutched her stomach. Her insides lurched in a dull pain, and every breath made her feel nauseous. Bile threatened to erupt out of her mouth, and it was only through sheer will that she kept it down.

“There, there,” Saito comforted Louise as he patted her back, kneeling next to her the entire time while Espirit used Heal Pulse on her trainer’s stomach. “Just breathe. Deep breaths, in and out.”

“Scr- HURK,” Louise gagged and covered her mouth, a warm sensation rising up her through before she forced it back down. Once it was gone, she groaned again. “Why? Founder, why?”

“That’s why you can’t eat that many sweets so quickly. It’ll mess up your—” Saito stopped as Louise could no longer hold it in and threw up loudly. Espirit jumped away with a squeak and the boy had a plain look on his face, pointedly looking away. “…stomach.” Louise retching slowly stopped and was replaced by ragged breaths. A few tears were on the corners of her eyes, but Saito chalked that up to embarrassment more than anything.

“I’m back, what did I—” Derflinger announced, only to stop as he saw Louise’s state. “Ew, that’s nasty. Too many sweets?”

“Too many sweets.”

“I know that feeling. First night I had a body, I gorged myself on food and drink, having never had it before. It was great. The next day, not so much. Word of advice, there is a time to stop eating and drinking, and that time is two in the morning. Nothing good ever comes after two in the morning.” Derflinger had a haunted look in his eye as he shuddered from the memory.

“Good to…urg…know…” Louise grumbled out as she shakily rose to her feet, Saito helping her along the way. “Is…Aile back with those berries?”

“What do you think?”

* * *

 

_“Aile, hurry up! Louise has been puking for the past ten minutes!” Brennaraki shouted at the gluttonous_ Fletchling, who was fluttering about the tree branches.

“ _There’s so many to choose from!_ ” Aile shouted back, nibbling on a berry. “ _I have to find out which ones will help her._ ”

“ _By eating one of every type of berry here!?”_

“ _It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make._ ” Aile closed her eyes and threw her wing over her heart, as if saluting herself for some noble deed. Brennaraki growled in response.

“ _Oh, I’ll make you a sacrifice if you don’t HURRY THE HELL UP!_ ”

* * *

 

“In all honesty, she is working much more quickly than she normally would, and I am surprised at how much restraint she is showing. She’s only trying the healing berries.”

“That doesn’t seem like a massive improvement,” Saito pointed out, to which Louise shrugged while still perched on his shoulder.

“Baby steps, Saito. Baby steps,” Louise said, feeling the need to defend her Pokémon. Besides, her stomach was starting to feel better, putting her in a better mood. Espirit, perched atop Louise’s shoulder, merely shrugged before continuing to use Heal Pulse on Louise, causing the rosecrown to smile. The group continued to make their way towards the Berry Fields, and pretty soon the yellow fences came into view. Outside them they saw a plantation worker standing next to Aile and Brennaraki, the Fennekin scolding the unabashed Fletching quite animatedly. In front of them was a large basket filled with berries, and Louise’s smile grew.

“Ma’am,” the worker tipped his hat towards them, “here are the berries your Honedge requested. Must admit, I was surprised to hear a Pokémon speak to me, but I got over it pretty quickly.”

“Thank you, sir,” Louise bowed. “Your generosity is most appreciated.”

“Don’t mention it.” The worker smiled. “Just try to lay off the sweets a bit. All that corn syrups and extracts…it just ain’t natural, ‘ya know? None of that is good for ‘ya.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch myself more carefully.” Louise smiled and waved. “We have to get going now. Thanks again!”

With one final wave, the two trainers returned their Pokémon, picked up the basket of berries, then walked back towards the main road. Louise nibbled on her berries, each bite bringing a soothing sensation to her throat and stomach.

“Hmm, Oran, Sitrus, Pecha, Aile really went all out. She did good,” Saito hummed to himself as he appraised the selection. Louise, meanwhile, continued to much on the berries, albeit much more slowly than previously. A taunting smirk then appeared on Saito’s face as he looked at his partner, who was pointedly avoiding eye contact.

“So, what have we learned?” he asked.

“Don’t eat too many sweets too fast,” Louise replied quickly as she took another bite of an Oran berry. A moment of silence descended on them before Derflinger spoke up.

“You’re not going to give up on the sweets, are you?” he plainly asked.

“Of course not. Now, though, I’ll be sure to eat more responsibly.” Saito merely laughed at that, and the two continued to walk down the road. It wasn’t long before they came across another intersection, with one road leading north and the other continuing westward. Next to the road they noticed a wooden sign. On it were two arrows, one pointing north, the other west.

“Okay, it says here…” Louise leaned forward to get a closer look. She heard faint footsteps pass them by but paid them no heed. She then smiled and stood up straight. “Alright, the daycare’s north of here. Shall we?”

“Let’s get going,” Saito said and smiled. The two then took the north road, leaving the paved Riviere Lane for a worn dirt path. After a few moments, a confused look crossed Saito’s face, and he looked at Louise.

“Louise?”

“Yes, Saito?”

“I just thought of something. If you’re from another world, then how come you can speak and read our language?”

“In all honesty, I don’t know.” Louise shrugged and shook her head. “Maybe its my magic, maybe Arceus messed with my head and downloaded the language like a TM, or its just a massive coincidence that Albionese is exactly the same as Unovan.”

“I learned to stop asking those types of questions a _long_ time ago,” Derflinger butted in. “Less of a headache.”

“Fair enough.” The trio continued walking down the road before rounding a bend, exiting the sight of the main road. As they did, a figure burst back into view, coming from the west, looking around franticly with her wide maroon eyes.

* * *

 

After several hours of walking under the burning sun, stopping once for lunch and a quick training session, the group finally arrived at the outskirts of the Kalos River Daycare. A large dome, one that looked like the top half of a Pokéball, sat in the middle of a large field. The field itself appeared to represent a wide range of environments. Louise saw grassy plains, rocky hills, a small swamp, even a river and lake running though it that separated many sections from one another. Off in the distance, she saw a few other buildings. One appeared to be a greenhouse, while the other was merely a grey steel box. If she had to guess, it was likely for any Ice-type Pokémon. All throughout the daycare, she could see herds of Pokémon sleeping, grazing, running, and playing across all the different areas. In the lake, swamp, and river, Water-type Pokémon splashed and swam, and they all looked happy and content.

“Well, this place is certainly impressive,” Derflinger noted, awe in his voice. Saito and Louise only nodded. “And I thought Camphrier had cleaned up nicely.”

“Back in Unova, I managed to visit a local daycare. That place was mostly a ranch. But this,” he paused and breathed in. “I definitely wouldn’t mind leaving my Pokémon here.”

“Same.” Louise nodded and pursed her lips. The place was certainly impressive but what most shook Louise was the sheer size of it all. The entire facility dwarfed her family estate, and she had thought that was big. This was at least four times the size, and it was all for the caring of Pokémon. It was mind-boggling.

She shook her head, letting her natural curiosity override her shock. “Come on, let’s head on inside. If we’re lucky, we can get a tour before nightfall.”

“Hopefully,” Saito agreed. Together, the two made their way towards the front gate. It was unlocked, with a red sign that read “Open” hanging off of it. Accepting the invitation, Saito opened the gate and let Louise walk through before walking in after her. As they neared the glass doors, they stopped and looked at each other. With a silent nod, Louise reached towards the door, intending to knock and announce their arrival.

“I’ve finally found you!” a familiar voice cried, halting Louise in her tracks. After quickly recovering, the pair turned to see who was hailing them, and their eyes widened.

“Elizabeth!? What are you doing here?!” Louise shrieked, both out of surprise and indignation. Elizabeth stood in the gateway, easily recognizable by her tanned skin and long green hair. Notably, she wasn’t wearing the navy dress she wore the previous times they had seen her, instead wearing a long violet dress that reminded Louise of the things Zerbst would wear. Seeing that she had their attention, the verdette smiled and began sauntering towards the pair.

“You wouldn’t believe how much trouble you were to find, Little Rose!” she exclaimed, “You weren’t on any of the roads, you weren’t in town, and just when I thought you had moved on, I find you here, at a daycare of all places. What drew you in, the months-old ads proclaiming their ‘expanded facilities’?”

“If you must know,” Louise replied, “we just saw it marked on the map and decided to investigate.”

“Well, that’s cute,” Elizabeth said, “but let’s get down—”

“I’m sorry,” Saito interrupted, causing Elizabeth to direct her attention to the boy with a disgusted glare.

“Oh, _you_ ,” Elizabeth said with a flat tone. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry for injuring you back at the cafe,” Saito explained, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I lashed out, and you got hurt. It shouldn’t have happened, and I’m sorry. I do have some issues with my temper, but I’m glad it at least didn’t scar.”

“Really now?” the verdette said, pulling out a cloth and wiping down the left side of her face, revealing an ugly, jagged scar, “Be glad I decided not to press charges, the next person you slash might not be as forgiving.”

“Why are you here, Elizabeth?” Louise said, annoyance and anger bubbling back up. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just to threaten my companion.”

“You’re companion? _Keeheehee!_ I’m sure you can find better than him!” Elizabeth replied, while an offended look crossed both Louise and Saito’s faces. “But, I’m here for a simple reason: I want another rematch.”

“Again?” Louise asked, incredulously. “Haven’t I humiliated you enough?”

“I’m not hearing a ‘no.’”

“Fine!” Louise threw her hands up in the air. “We both know how this is going to turn out.”

Saito sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I’d rather not have to sit through another one of these, so I’ll just leave you girls to it.”

“Fine by me,” Elizabeth said, somewhat glad that Saito was leaving. “Your move, Little Rose.”

“I’m sure you already know my choice,” Louise said, “Go! Brennaraki!”

“ _Keh heh heh_ I’m going to enjoy wiping that smug look off your face,” Elizabeth replied, “Zorua!”

“Well, at least it isn’t a fish out of water this time,” Louise muttered as the black and red fox appeared in the courtyard. Immediately, she pulled out her Pokédex and pointed the camera towards the Zorua.

“ _Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. Zorua and its evolution Zororark have the unique ability to bend light around them and create illusions, making them appear to be something else. They use this ability to both hide from predators as well as prey._ ”

“Hmm,” Louise hummed to herself as she quickly thought of a strategy. It was a Dark-type, which limited Brennaraki somewhat, and the mention of illusions likely meant that tricks would be employed. She would have to be careful.

“Are you just going to gawk all day, or are we going to battle?” Elizabeth asked, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Louise growled.

“Fire Spin!”

* * *

 

“Geez, this is turning into a mess,” Saito groaned and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat down. He was on a hill outside of the facility, overlooking the daycare. He had a nice view of the entire place. A faint whistling was heard, and Saito turned his head to see Derflinger floating up to him.

“Well, I take it that pinky and greeny have some sort of history between them,” he observed as he stopped next to the boy. “She was so focused on you two that she didn’t even notice me. Mind filling me in?”

“It’s…complicated.” Saito sighed. “You know how Louise arrived in Kalos almost two months ago?”

“She mentioned that. I take she was involved, somewhat?”

“Louise met her just before she left for Santalune. She had spent the month with Professor Augustine Sycamore as his intern and assistant.  While she was there, she not only learned everything she could about Pokémon, she also bonded with Brennaraki.”

“Pretty strongly, too.” Derflinger’s eye lidded in content and chuckled. “It’s kinda funny how similar those two are. Well, that’s probably why they get along so well, now that I think about it.”

“I’ve thought that, too. Those two are inseparable, at this point. Anyway, back to what I was saying, during that first month, Louise and Brennaraki bonded. Started developing that trust between them. Then, Elizabeth showed up one day.”

“What happened?”

“As Louise explained it, Elizabeth was, and is, a collector, a person who collects rare Pokémon. As Brennaraki was a female Shiny Fennekin, this made her extremely rare and thus highly valuable. Elizabeth wanted to buy her, and both Brennaraki and Sycamore refused.”

“I take it that’s why Louise doesn’t like collectors all that much?” Derflinger mused. He had only known them for roughly twelve hours, but he had picked up on Louise’s resentment towards the group. He himself had no problem with the practice, just so long as the Pokémon in question were cared for, but he also would respect her opinion.

Saito nodded at his question. “Pretty much, that and also the practice hit too close for home. Anyway, Elizabeth didn’t take no for an answer, and that night she broke in to try and steal Brennaraki.”

“Well, color me surprised. Didn’t take the lady for a cat burglar, although she obviously sucks at it.” Derflinger glanced down to the bottom of hill, where Louise’s and Elizabeth’s battle still raged. “Did she at least wear a catsuit for it?”

“Louise said she did, actually. Anyway, to Elizabeth, she was merely ‘buying’ Brennaraki with five times her purchase price on the open market, but yeah, she tried to steal her. Long story short, Louise stopped her, got bit in the leg by her Eevee, Elizabeth got kicked out and barred from ever reentering Sycamore’s lab, and Louise got Brennaraki as her starter.” Derflinger went silent, thinking the chain of events over before looking back down on the battle below them. It was still ongoing, with Brennaraki and Zorua exchanging blows, neither gaining an advantage over the other.

“Something tells me that’s not the end of it.” He observed, and Saito nodded once more.

“When Louise and I, now traveling together, got back to Lumiose to try and challenge the Lumiose Gym, Elizabeth saw us entering the city together. She decided to get some petty revenge on her and, having assumed that we were an item for some reason,” Saito didn’t notice the odd look on Derflinger’s eye, and continued, “decided to get to her through me.”

“What she’d do? Ask you out on a date?” Derflinger laughed. When Saito didn’t respond, the laughter slowly died down, and the Honedge looked upon the boy incredulously. “Ah, come on! Didn’t anyone tell you not to shit in the bed you sleep in?”

“In my defense,” Saito protested, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks, “Louise did not tell me her name or what she looked like. I merely thought she was a pretty girl who wanted to eat with me, for some reason. Like a moron, I accepted.”

“When did Louise come in?”

“An hour into it. She was flustered and angry then stormed out. A few minutes later, she came back in, all calm and composed before proceeding to expertly expose her as the thief and revealing that she was using me.” Saito looked downcast and regretful, something Derflinger picked up on.

“Ha, seems like a fairly restrained reaction from her,” Derflinger laughed out before growing more somber. “So, what happened next?”

“I… I saw red. Tunnel vision and everything. I felt humiliated, used, angry, and I wanted to lash out. So, I threw the contents of my water glass at her then stormed out.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad.” Saito merely sighed, this one deeper.

“What I didn’t know, before I threw my water at her, was that in my anger, I accidently chipped the glass I was holding. A small crack appeared and, when I threw my water at her, a piece of glass flew out, too, which hit her in the face. That’s why she has that big scar next to her eye. I caused that…” Saito grew silent, as did Derflinger. He thought over his words, then finally spoke up.

“It was an accident, right?” Saito looked confused at his question and nodded.

“Yes, of course. I would never have willingly done that.”

“Then why are you still stewing about it? What’s done is done. So you gave her a scar, she probably already made up a far more interesting tale on how she obtained it. But, sitting there and ruminating over your past mistakes is not the best way forward. You feel bad, right? Use that feeling to better yourself. Make sure that you never do that again, unless you really need to, that is.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not, trust me. I’ve seen many men and women, good men and women, fall to grudges and past regrets. They weren’t able to move on, and in the end,  it destroyed them.” Thoughts of past partners raced through Derflinger’s mind, but he shook them away. “I don’t want to see that happen to either of you.”

Saito was silent as he stared at the Honedge. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll try.”

“Don’t try, do.” Derflinger shook his body. “As for Elizabeth, I don’t have an answer for that. Maybe she’ll eventually forgive you. That’s up to her, not you. You made a mistake, and you’re not going to ever repeat it. You’re doing your part, let her do hers.”

Saito was shocked, not having expected that piece of advice from the six thousand-year-old Honedge. Finally, he nodded in agreement then looked back out towards the daycare. The sight was serene and peaceful. He wasn’t lying when he said he wouldn’t mind leaving his Pokémon here. Granted, he didn’t have to. Should he get any excess Pokémon, which he didn’t plan on doing, they would all go to Professor Sycamore. Benefits of being friends with his protégé, so he didn’t have need of their services. He could see all the different Pokémon out on the field, a few watching the battle below them. He saw herds of Tauros and Bouffalant grazing on the plains, Psyduck and Ducklett swimming in the river, and a single Absol starring him down.

“Huh, an Absol. That’s neat,” Derflinger said, staring the creature down. It continued to stare at them before shifting its gaze downward. They followed its gaze and saw it was now staring at Louise, who remained oblivious to her new observer. Slowly, Saito pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the creature, and with rising alarm, noticed it was a wild Pokémon.

“Derf, quick question,” Saito asked, his voice’s pitch getting higher. “That whole thing about Absols predicting disasters… It’s not true, is it?”

“It’s completely accurate,” Derflinger replied, deep in contemplation. “It can either be natural or manmade, but if a wild Absol shows up, odds are something interesting is about to happen.”

A pregnant paused ensued between the two of them. They stared at each other then back towards the Absol, who they quickly noted was now gone. A moment passed, and then the two shot up and sprinted down the hill.

* * *

 

The two foxes growled as they circled each other, neither of them having gained a decisive advantage, but Elizabeth knew that it wouldn’t stay that way for long. She could already tell that Zorua was getting tired out, the fox’s previous life leaving her stamina somewhat less than desirable. Brennaraki, by contrast, had likely trained for this for her entire life, so Zorua would have to finish this quickly if she were to have any chance at victory. The verdette smiled, a plan forming in her mind.

“Zorua!” she said, motioning for the fox to charge at her opponent.

“Brennaraki, dodge!” Louise shouted, prompting the silver fox to jump out of the way of Zorua’s rather clumsy attack.

Elizabeth smiled, Louise had just fallen into her trap. “Pursuit!”

Zorua pivoted around and leapt at Brennaraki, a corona of purple energy forming around her. The firefox was unable to dodge and took the charge side-on, her leap turning into a graceless tumble as the energy detonated, imparting more momentum to its target.

“What?” Louise said, utterly surprised by the event.

“ _Keeheehee_ , you’re too predictable,” the verdette laughed. “Zorua, finish her off with Fury Swipes!”

The tricky fox gave an approximation of a nod before taking off towards the downed Pokémon, her claws at the ready. Only, she never got there. The confused fox glanced around and discovered that she was being suspended a few inches off the ground.

“Hey! You two need to stop fighting!” Saito yelled as he ran towards the two young women.

“Well that’s a definite foul if I’ve ever seen one,” Elizabeth muttered before addressing Saito. “Is this important or could you just not bear to see your crush lose?” Louise’s face reddened at that remark, but Saito seemed nonplussed.

“A-anyway,” he awkwardly began, “I saw an Absol nearby, I don’t think it’s safe here.”

“ _Urgh_ , another fool,” Elizabeth murmured, recalling Zorua and placing her head in her hands.

“Absol?” Louise asked, confused as to why her partner seemed alarmed at that news. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that one.”

“You have a Pokédex, right?” the verdette said suddenly, “Double-oh nine, Coastal.”

“Oh,” the rosecrown said, pulling up the relevant file.

_“Absol. The Disaster Pokémon.”_ the device chirped, _“Nearly every time an Absol appears before people, it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result, it came to be known as the Disaster Pokémon.”_

“Huh, that’s…concerning.” Louise pursed her lips and frowned before looking at Saito. With a hardened expression, she pocketed her Pokédex once again and looked back towards Elizabeth. “Can you give us a moment?”

“You do realize that’s Tauros shit, right?” Elizabeth stated, but Louise only responded with a glare. With a defeated sigh, Elizabeth shook her head and walked away, pulling out her smartphone as she did. “Fine, fine. I’ll be over there. Don’t think this is over.”

“I don’t think I could if I wanted to,” Louise uttered under her breath before looking back at Saito. “You look distressed. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Saito hastily responded. “Derflinger and I saw and Absol a few minutes ago, and that is never a good sign.”

“You’re honestly saying that the appearance of an Absol says that disaster awaits?” Louise raised her eyebrow in disbelief. “Saito, I’ve seen many strange things since I’ve been here, but this—”

“It was staring right at us.” Saito’s declaration silenced Louise. Seeing how her eyes were now widening, Saito pressed on. “Derf and I saw it over on the rocks. It was staring right at us. I could _feel_ its eyes boring into me.”

Louise was silent as she grabbed her chin and looked up at the rocks in question. Nothing was there. “Are you sure that the disaster connection is accurate?”

“Back during the Kalosian Unification Wars,” Derflinger spoke up, “I once saw an Absol overlooking a vast and fertile floodplain. It was the middle of a drought, so no one worried about the risk of catastrophic flooding, but seeing that Absol spooked King Kalos I into pulling out. A week later, the largest and most powerful storm in over a century hit and caused a landslide. Coupled with the flooding, the entire Aquacorde army was wiped out, along with several low-lying villages. Similar sightings occurred just before massive earthquakes, landslides, and even the bloodiest battles of the war. So yes, the connection is accurate.”

Louise was silent as she pondered this information. While she didn’t trust the Honedge entirely, Louise couldn’t help but notice the sense of urgency in his voice. One he hadn’t had since she met him. She turned back to Saito, placing her hand on her hip.

“Okay, let’s say I believe you. What do we do?”

“Get the hell out of here,” Saito immediately replied. “I may not know what disaster is coming, but I do not want to be part of it.” Louise stayed silent, staring at Saito before looking at Derflinger. He, too, was staring at her, just without the level of panic Saito had. Finally, she spoke up.

“Derflinger, you said that the disaster can also be manmade, right?” Derflinger nodded, and Louise continued. “In that case, we’re staying.”

“Ha! I was hoping you would say that! It’s been ages since I had any real action!” Derflinger shouted with enthusiasm only for Saito to start sputtering in surprise.

“Let me explain,” Louise cut him off. “One, I’m still not entirely convinced that this connection is accurate. If it isn’t correct, I don’t want to avoid our plans based purely off of superstitious nonsense. If the connection is accurate, then I want to be here to help out with whatever this upcoming disaster may or may not be.”

“But—”

“Saito,” Louise cut him off again, this time with a glare. “We are not leaving just because we got spooked by a Pokémon. Got it? Besides, how would you feel if something bad did happen, one that you could have helped prevent, but didn’t because of cowardice?” Saito stayed silent before groaning.

“Fine, fine,” he moaned. “One night. One night, and if nothing happens, then you get the right to say, ‘I told you so,’ and then we leave. Deal?”

“Deal.” The two shook hands and walked back over to Elizabeth, who as angrily putting away her phone.

“Lousy reception,” she angrily muttered as she turned back towards the two trainers. “Well, what have you two decided? Going to cut and run due to superstition?”

“For your information,” Louise got out with a huff, “we are going to keep our original plan, one that you rudely interrupted, and we will be staying the night. If nothing bad happens, then nothing happens. If it does, then we plan on helping out. You can leave if you want.”

“Ohhoho, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” the verdette said as she walked past the two, towards the main building. “Besides, I know a few of the guys who work here, and they’d probably be happy to give you a tour of the place if you asked, since I doubt that you’ve had time to look inside yet.”

“Again, a plan you had rudely interrupted,” Louise barked back with a glare

“Hey, lady?” a vaguely familiar voice said, “Why are you acting so nice? From what the spitfire’s said, you’re supposedly the worst.”

“ _Keh_ , the ‘spitfire’ tends to be biased against those she doesn’t like,” Elizabeth haughtily laughed with her eyes closed, turning around. Then she saw who she was speaking with, and she froze. She had been so focused on Louise and Saito that she hadn’t noticed the Honedge floating alongside them, and her heartbeat sped up dramatically as her eyes widened in fear. Dark, powerful memories she had long thought repressed sprang forward, and for a moment she though she heard another voice call out to her in anger.

_“Oi! Who are you calling tamed?”_

“Ehh, lady?” Derflinger asked, now concerned. “Is something wrong? I don’t have something stuck on my face, do I?”

“G-get away from me, demon!” Elizabeth shouted before sprinting to the door and disappearing inside, leaving behind a shocked Saito, Louise, and Derflinger.

“What the hell was that about?” Saito wondered, idle concern bubbling in him.

Derflinger sent a concerned glance towards the door before turning back to his partners. He had a thought as to why there verdette reacted the way he did, but nothing concrete. “I honestly don't know.”

“Should I go check on her?” Saito asked earnestly, and Derflinger shook his body.

“Give her some space, she’ll come find us when she’s ready,” the Honedge replied.

“Then we just wait?” Louise asked, looking towards the facility. “I don’t want to just go inside while she’s freaked out. What are we supposed to do now?” The trio went silent as they pondered their next course of action.

“Well,” Derflinger began after a few moments of silence, “have I told you how I met King Kalos I?”

* * *

 

Elizabeth leaned against a wall, allowing her heart to calm down, grateful that there was nobody in the room to see her in this state. She wasn’t entirely sure why the Honedge had scared her so badly, she had held a deep-seated fear of the Honedge line for nearly half her life, but somehow _this_ was different. She had recognized the blade, despite being certain that she had never seen it before in her life, and that terrified her more than anything else. After a few more moments, the verdette exhaled and straightened up, walking over to the main desk, and stopped when she remembered that there wasn't anyone there.

“That’s odd,” Elizabeth said, reaching for the bell on the desk and ringing it, “usually they have somebody here.”

Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a violet-haired young man tore out of the back room, nearly crashing into the desk. He was slightly overweight, but not too much, and his green eyes were slightly panicked at being caught unawares.

“Sorry! Sorry! I’m here, now! What can I help you with?” the man hurriedly said.

Elizabeth felt herself smile a little at the man’s antics, “I’m surprised that you still work here, Jason.”

“Oh! M-miss Elizabeth! Y-yep, I’m still working this job,” the young man stuttered out. “What brings you here?”

“I was just passing through the area when I ran into a few,” she paused, looking for the right word, “ _friends_ who hadn’t seen this place before.”

“ _‘Friends,’_ right,” Jason replied, smirking wryly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and the plum-haired man chuckled. “I know, I know. I’ll drop it. Do you want me to find someone to give them a tour?”

“Yes, please,” she said, “How did you know what I was going to ask?”

“Lucky guess?” he replied, leaning on the desk. “Though, if I may ask, just who are these _friends_ who’re troubling you?”

“Oh, they’re just some guys I met in Lumiose, not really the type of people I’d seek out,” Elizabeth said. “Normally I’d just move on, but one of them saw an Absol, and now they’re half convinced that something bad is going to happen.” Both of them laughed, and Jason’s eyes lit up as he thought of something.

“Let me guess, one of them was wearing a black dress and looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks?”

“ _Keeheehee!_ No, no,” the verdette was quick to interject. “She wasn’t that bad. At worst, she’s got a family member who’s into that stuff, but the only really ‘hexey’ thing I saw on her was a pentagram brooch.”

“That’s a shame,” Jason said wistfully. “I may not like the whole idea behind the movement, but there’s just something about that unhinged look that I can’t help but find cute.”

“Will you ever change?” Elizabeth smiled and shook her head.

“Probably not, I was born this way,” Jason flippantly replied with a smirk. “Is she at least cute?”

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow. “Are you into violent girls half your height?”

Jason sputtered. “What about her friends? Are they at all cute?”

“The Little Rose is more of an acquired taste, I guess,” Elizabeth said, snorting, “As for her friend, have you ever read any of those Kantonian novels where this cardboard cutout of a person gets run over and Arceus takes pity on them, sending them to some other world where they succeed at everything they try?”  
  
“Ye–” Jason cut himself off, “Err, I mean, I read a few, back when I didn’t know better.”

“Well, he basically looks like one of those guys, right down to the cringy tracksuit that’ll make him stick out like a sore thumb in whatever world he gets thrown into.”

Jason’s face immediately fell. “Well, need anything else?”

“Do you have an open examination room?” the verdette replied. “I’m thinking of entering Machamp into PWE, and I forgot to take his measurements.” After her last battle with Louise, it later turned out that one of the spectators had videoed Machamp’s battle against the Shiny Fennekin. It amassed ten million views in a three days. It even got on the news the very next day. It honestly humiliated her, up until she started getting calls left and right from various sponsors asking her to enter Machamp into professional Pokémon wrestling. Despite the fact that Machamp had purposefully lost, he was still a good Pokémon and she felt it would be the best for him. Besides, many of the deals promised a sponsorship cut of his earnings, which would easily fund her expenses as she travelled.

“Sure,” he replied. “There should be an open one right down the hall and to your left.”

“Thank you,” she said and walked off, her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor, even after she disappeared from view.

Jason watched her as she left and frowned. “I probably should have asked her about that scar.” At that moment, the door opened, and he heard a bombastic voice recounting some story.

“Then she said: _‘That’s the last time you lie to me!’_ and began to strangle him with her hair despite being nearly three meters away!”

“Huh, a talking Honedge… That’s neat.”

* * *

 

The Saito, Louise, and Derflinger entered shortly afterwards, with Jason escorting them. The male receptionist had quickly begun awkwardly flirting with Louise, causing her to blush and sputter from the attention. After all, no one had ever really done that to her. At the same time, Saito had subconsciously given the boy the stink eye as he did, which Jason had readily noticed. Rather than cease, he merely shifted his flirting to Saito, which caused him to start sputtering. Derflinger, meanwhile, remained silent and amused as he watched their antics.

“Hello, everyone~!” a woman’s voice shouted out as she entered the foyer. She had long, brunette hair tied in a ponytail, and was wearing a green Kalos River Daycare uniform under light brown overalls. A green hat sat atop her head. “My name is Joyce, and I’m the senior caretaker here at the Kalos River Daycare center! What brings you two here today?”

“Hello, Joyce. My name is Louise Valliere, and this is my friend Saito.” Saito waved as he was called out, a faint smile on his face. “We saw that there was a daycare nearby and we were both curious. We were hoping that you could give us a tour of the facilities?”

“Of course! I’m always happy to show out our facilities,” Joyce happily nodded. “You know, we actually recently expanded our facilities, and now we are the largest daycare in the Kalos Region. Are you two, by any chance, looking to potentially keep some Pokémon here?”

“No, we are currently linked to Professor Sycamore’s lab in Lumiose.” Louise shook her head. “But, I’m still interested in your facilities, if it is alright with you.”

“It’s no problem at all! Any friend of Augustine is a friend of mine,” Joyce replied with a smile. She then extended her arm towards the door she entered in from. “If you two will follow me, please?”

“Don’t forget me,” Derflinger spoke up. If the daycare worker was surprised, she didn’t show it. Louise had to admire her professionalism.

“Of course! Please, right this way. Feel free to release the rest of your Pokémon from their Pokéballs. This is a daycare, after all. Being a Pokémon friendly venue is what we’re all about.”

The trio chuckled at her joke before walking through the door. They were greeted by a long hallway, with several doors lining the sides. Joyce took her position at the front of the group as Saito and Louise released the rest of their Pokémon.

“At the Kalos River Daycare, we take pride in ensuring the health and safety of all of the Pokémon in our care. As such we employ state of the art medical technology that allow us to monitor and heal for any injuries a Pokémon may obtain. Not to mention illnesses.”

“Ooh,” Louise marveled at the complicated equipment through the windows. Each room was an individual medical station, complete with monitors, bio-readers, and a healing machine. “You know, I’ve always wondered how those healing machines work.”

“Actually, I can answer that,” Joyce responded with a smile. “The HPM, Heal Pulse Machine, was a Silph Company invention made in Kanto a little over twenty years ago. It was the result of decades of research into artificially recreating the healing effects of certain Pokémon moves, such as Heal Pulse, which gave the machine its name. At first, the machines were bulky, only usable in hospitals and Pokémon Centers, where they used a combination of healing rays and berry extracts to mend injuries for people and Pokémon. Now, they’ve been able to miniaturize the device, allowing for smaller facilities and clinics to have one. We have ten.”

“Wow.” Louise turned back to the machines. Back home, water mages were often the ones who healed injuries, but to be able to do so through machines still fascinated her. Her Pokémon were bunched up with her, using her as a perch to try and get a better view inside. Espirit in particular was sitting atop Louise’s head, gazing upon the room in wonder. Saito’s Pokémon, with the exception of Maindo, were also currently watching another set of machines in inside another room, each just as fascinated. Joyce smiled at the sight, then coughed to get their attention.

“If you will come this way, I can show you what is, in my opinion, the best room in the entire facility,” Joyce said as she led them further down the hall. At the far end was a sliding glass door with steel edging. The glass was foggy, obscuring their vision, yet from how Joyce was reacting, it appeared to be something good. As they approached, Louise and Saito noticed a keypad next to the door. Joyce covered it with her body then entered several numbers in quick succession. The pad shone green, and a clicking noise was heard from the door.

“Louise, Saito, welcome to the Hatchery,” Joyce announced as the door opened. As it did, billows of steam entered the hallway, but the sight in front of them took their breathes away. Inside were hundreds of Pokémon Eggs. They lined the walls and were placed on special tables, each enclosed in a glass tube with a light shining above it. The eggs themselves were a wide assortment of patterns and colors, and Louise could only guess what lay within them. The same went for Saito, and they both felt a massive weight on them, that this room was one of the most important rooms they would ever been.

“How many eggs are in here?” Derflinger asked, his eye wide as he took in the sight. The other Pokémon, even Maindo, stared at the eggs in wonder and silence.

“Currently, we have in our hands three-hundred and six eggs, each contained in their own unique protective casing. Inside, the eggs incubate until they are ready to give to their trainers.”

“And if the trainers don’t accept the eggs, then you keep them,” Louise pointed out, and Joyce nodded.

“That is correct, Ms. Valliere. Our facility is a licensed breeding center, and part of is the right to sell Pokémon Eggs. While we do have stock of our own, most of our eggs come from trainers leaving their Pokémon here.”

“What sort of people buy them?” Louise asked.

“All sorts of people. Ranchers, farmers, researchers, and trainers, mostly. A few times we’ll get a family who just wants a friend. All purchasers, though, no matter how big or small, have to undergo a background check to make sure that the Pokémon they want won’t go to a bad home. Any history of abuse or criminal records get scrutinized and often outright refused.”

“I appreciate that,” Saito replied. “I dread to think of a Pokémon put into an abusive home.”

“Same,” Joyce’s smile faltered. “It’s terrible to think that sort of thing still happens in this world. It’s cruel."

Louise was suddenly reminded of another difference between her home and Earth. Back home, animals were viewed as mindless beasts. All humans, even commoners, were obviously above them, superior in every way. Sure, an animal might be stronger or could fly, but humans were smarter. Humans had magic, they had technology, language and social structure. Humans had feelings and a soul, while animals did not. Humans brought order to the chaos that was the natural world, and as such many used it as all the justification they need to do whatever they wanted. In contrast, the people of Earth seemed to have moved past that mindset and into one where they weren’t so much as masters of nature but more like caretakers. A belief that living alongside nature was better than to consume it, one they readily acted on. As a result, their relationship with nature was more harmonious than hers. If she had to guess, it likely came from the fact that on Earth, Pokémon were much more widespread than the magical creatures back home and were just as intelligent as they were. Humans here had to live with the fact that they were equals with Pokémon for their entire existence. Not to mention, it didn’t make much sense to pollute the environment when that ran the risk of making a Dragon-type go on a rampage.

At first, the thought that she wasn’t superior to another creature frightened her. But, after traveling for so long, it didn’t anymore. Her Pokémon were family, and if anyone tried to imply otherwise, they would be quickly proven otherwise.

“Joyce?” Louise asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “I have a quick question about the Pokémon Eggs.”

“Of course, Ms. Valliere. Or, may I call you Louise?”

“Louise is fine.” She smiled. “How exactly does the hatching work? The breeding and everything?”

“Excellent question!” Joyce said with a smile. “Now, contrary to what many tell ten-year-old kids on their journeys, we do know exactly where eggs come from. Once a mating pair of Pokémon fertilize an Egg, the female then lays it, where we then take the egg for incubation. Although each species of Pokémon are different from one another, Professor Elm of the Johto Region discovered the existence of Egg Groups, where certain species of Pokémon can interbreed with each other despite being different species all together. The resulting egg always has characteristics of both the mother and father species, no matter which species the egg results in.”

“Is that why a Skitty and a Wailord can breed?” Saito asked with a confused expression. Louise, not knowing what those Pokémon were, quickly pulled out her Pokédex and looked up the pair. After a moment, Derflinger peeked over her shoulder to look at the two Pokémon in question.

“How in the hell does _that_ work out?” he asked while Louise stared blankly at the picture of a tiny kitten and a massive whale.

“I…honestly have no idea. We’ve never had that happen here, at least since I started.” Joyce shrugged, at a loss for words. “Anyway, Pokémon can hatch in one of two ways. The faster method is to give them to a trainer or mother. Something about close proximity to another beings speeds up the hatching process. Otherwise, we simply—”

A loud crack sounded in the hatchery, cutting Joyce off as she and the others whipped around to find the source. On a nearby table, they saw a yellow egg with a black bottom shaking, a small crack appearing at the top.

“Oh, my…” Joyce breathed out before rushing over. The others followed while Espirit immediately teleported to the egg. With her empathic abilities, she allowed herself to sense the emotions around her. She could feel the creatures inside all the eggs and in the nearby nurseries. They were happy, joyful, and full of curiosity as they took in the world around them. Many could barely feel the world outside of their eggs and were only just now beginning to grasp how large the world actually was. The egg in front of her, however, had just now fully realized how big the world was, and it wanted to see for itself, yet at the same time was afraid.

‘ _Come on, you can do it_ ,’ she soothed the Pokémon side. ‘ _It’s not scary out here. It’s bright and warm, you’ll love it. Just come on out and see._ ’

The Pokémon seemed to heed her words and the fear slowly abated. Soon, more cracks appeared on the egg, and a soft glow appeared from inside. It was a warm light, bright as the sun yet not blinding. Everyone stood in awe as the cracks expanded, the light shining brighter and brighter until finally, with one final crack, the egg shell fully cracked away and turned into light. No one turned their gaze away as the light shone brighter and brighter until it finally died away, revealing a small yellow and black mouse with a short black tail. It was an adorable as it rubbed its eyes, letting them adjust to the outside world, its pink cheek marks sparking slightly. Silently, her eyes filled with wonder, Louise pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

“ _Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. The electric sacs of a Pichu are underdeveloped compared to other Electric-type Pokémon, and often hurt themselves when using electric their electricity. At the same time, they also do not produce nearly as much voltage. This makes them highly appropriate as pets to young children, and their evolved forms of Pikachu and Raichu make them highly valuable to trainers as well_.”

“Its…” Louise paused to let the Pichu yawn, a tiny squeak coming out as it did, “… _adorable!_ ” She felt no shame that she practically squealed out that last part.

‘ _Welcome to the world_.’ Espirit smiled at the Pichu, who finally opened its eyes and looked her, then smiled.

* * *

 

Several hours into the pile of paperwork she was given, the sun long gone and the moon shining overhead, Elizabeth was only just now finishing it up. The biggest problem was simply going through all of the different offers and finding out which one had the best deal. Eventually, they decided on the PWE contract, seeing how its terms were the most favorable for them.

“Only 125 kilos?” Elizabeth said incredulously, “Have I been treating you wrong, or are you just small for your age?” The individual in question simply crossed his arms and glared at the verdette.

“Okay, Machamp,” she said. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Machamp looked down, shaking his head. _‘I wasn’t too much of a fan of how she was acting before, but this definitely feels like she’s trying to have her cake and eat it, too.’_

_“I dunno, mister,”_ Zorua yipped, _“Lizzie seems alright to me! Besides, didn’t you want to work with this PWE thing?”_

Eevee huffed in disapproval. _“She better not hear you calling her that, kit.”_

_“Hey!”_ the fox barked. _“You have no right to call me that! I’m almost as old as you are!”_

_“You’re still my junior,_ kit _,”_ Eevee sneered back.

“ _This really isn’t worth fighting over,_ ” Machamp interjected, trying to diffuse the situation, only for them to both round on him.

_“You stay out of this!”_

_“I can handle myself!”_

The two then returned to their feud, entirely disregarding Machamp’s efforts to de-escalate their argument, who merely threw up his arms in exasperation and defeat. Elizabeth looked on and sighed, “They can barely stand each other, how could they possibly stand me?”

The verdette blinked back the tears that were threatening to form and pushed the feeling down into the roiling mass of emotions that had been growing in her stomach for the past two weeks. Then, she picked up a pen in her right hand and began to fill out the last few forms in Machamp’s application.

“Knock, knock,” Jason said, standing in the threshold of the room. Elizabeth looked up at him, and he smiled. “Mind if I come in?”

“Sure, why not?” the verdette sighed. Jason walked in, ignoring the two Pokémon fighting in the background.

“Are you sure that you’re alright, Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth barely kept herself from rolling her eyes, forcing the irritation down to join its brethren. “Yes, I am, Jason. You don’t need to worry.”

“Really?” He sounded skeptical. “Then where did you get that scar?”

The verdette glared at him, but answered anyway, assuming that complying would get rid of him faster, “Tracksuit kid slashed me with a broken glass.”

“Wait, what!?” the plum-haired boy exclaimed, “You can’t just say things like that without context!”

“Fine,” she huffed, “I got between him and his crush, and that angered him.”

“You know, he glared at me when I tried to flirt with the girl, but I didn’t expect him to be so possessive of her. Seems kind of extreme,” he mused. He suspected that Elizabeth was holding some information back, but otherwise dismissed it. He then waggled his eyebrows. “Did you at least manage to kiss your _‘Little Rose’_?”

“Just what are you implying _?_ ” Elizabeth shot back, blushing slightly.

Jason chuckled a little, “Well—” He didn’t manage to finish as the room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

“What the Hell!?” Elizabeth shouted and the fighting between Eevee and Zorua suddenly stopped. From the darkness, they could see Machamp suddenly tense up.

“What the…?” Jason muttered before pulling something out of his pocket and putting it to his lips. He then blew into it, and while he nor Elizabeth heard a thing, their Pokémon did as they clutched their ears.

_“Aaaaagh!”_ both Eevee and Zorua cried out in unison.

_‘A little warning would have been nice,’_ Machamp muttered, having fought through the uncomfortable sound.

“…sorry.” Jason awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Soon, a faint glow could be seen from under the door, and Jason opened it–bumping into a few objects along the way–revealing a Growlithe.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly, bud,” he said. “Would you mind giving us some light?”

The hound barked in agreement and increased the intensity of the glow her fur emitted, brightening up the room substantially. Elizabeth and the others could now see clearly and the Growlithe sat down, waiting for Jason’s next request.

“Thank you, bud,” he said, glad to be able to see again. “Now, we need to get back to the lobby.”

“Any idea what happened?” Elizabeth couldn’t help but think back to the Absol Saito said he saw earlier before shaking her head. She wouldn’t allow herself to believe in such superstitious nonsense.

“I honestly have no idea. Probably just a blown circuit or something.”

* * *

 

On the outskirts of the Daycare, on a large hill overlooking the entire facility, a lone man stood. Through a pair of night vision binoculars, he could see the Pokémon below whisk around in confusion as the lights suddenly gave out. The workers who were still there shouted in alarm before running back to the main facility, a few guests running after them. A small frown appeared on his face. The guests weren’t part of the plan, but there appeared to be only two. He could adjust accordingly.

“All teams,” he said into his radio. “This is Maxwell. The operation is a go. Proceed with the extraction.”

“Yes, sir!” a chorus of voices shouted from the other radios. Maxwell allowed himself to smirk. A pair of red trucks rolled past him towards the daycare. As they did, he allowed himself the luxury of looking that the logo emblazoned on the back doors. To his pleasure, he saw a single red flare with black cracks appearing along it. They may only be but a remnant of something once far larger, but he knew that eventually, time would allow those cracks to heal and Flare to become a blazing inferno.

[~][~]

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! This is a story I've been working on for well over a year at this point, actually, staring it over on the Spacebattles forums. We later shared it to both Sufficient Velocity and Fanfiction.Net, and now that I have a AO3 account, I figured it was about time that I post this here, too.
> 
> Special thanks to Grendel4823, Firebird Zoom, Catboy41, wildrook, and PurveyorOfBadIdeas for all their help in helping me bring this story to life. I wouldn't be able to do it without them. Now, for the first few 'episodes', as it were, we had another named SwiftRosenthal who helped us out. Unfortunately, he left the project but his brainstorming and editing process still influences us to this day.
> 
> I will be posting each chapter individually day by day until ever chapter has been posted, up to wherever the FF.net version is. After that, I will be updating the Spacebattles, FF.net, and the AO3 postings similtaneously until the story is finished.
> 
> Please let us know what you guys think. I will try to respond to any questions and comments you may have, so long as they aren't spoiler related. Those will receive a "Can't reply due to spoilers", you know how it is. 
> 
> Please let us know what you think, and I hope you enjoy the story.


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